Autocar drives the Ferrari 458 Italia
#1
08-24-2010, 08:03 AM
Autocar drives the Ferrari 458 Italia 
For Accessible performance, Excellent handling balance, The sense of occasion
Against Expensive - especially with options, No manual option, Ergonomic slips
"There has always been a bit of a contradiction about the notion of a junior Ferrari. But, with a few notable exceptions, that is how the mid-engined V8-powered cars from Maranello have been known. So it was with the 308 GTB, and the line of cars that followed.
Now, though, things are changing at Ferrari. In the California, it has a fourth model line designed to cater for those wanting a slighter softer experience from their Prancing Horse.
Which has given the 458 Italia, the latest V8 Ferrari, the licence to move into more serious territory. There is nothing remotely junior about 562bhp or a top speed in excess of 200mph. In fact, as you will see, the 458 is, in many ways, comparable with the bigger 599 GTB. Not only does it outpace its V12 sibling to 60mph and 100mph but, as our test car shows, with a before-options price of £169,546, the 458 Italia is also a car that can easily cost over £200,000.
Numbers are one thing, though. What we are here to find out is if the new junior has not just moved the game on, but also entered the rarefied ranks of the truly great Ferraris.
Not so long ago, we reported on a project within Ferrari to reduce the weight of its sports cars by looking at new technologies and construction techniques with the aim of producing a sports car weighing just 1000kg – or Mille Chili in Italian. Weighing 1535kg, as tested, the 458 Italia is not that car.
However, while the 458 sticks to the established formula of a spaceframe covered with aluminium body panels, it is a significant step forward from the F430. For starters, the chassis structure is 15 per cent more rigid. Then there is the engine, a new direct-injection 4.5-litre V8. Although the cast block is the same as used in the California, by the time it is completed the 458’s engine is of a larger capacity and can rev significantly higher – to 9000rpm. Ferrari admits it could, in fact, rev higher still, but this would have implications for fuel consumption at lower revs.
That might seem of little importance, but it is a sign of the times that Ferrari is almost as proud of the 458’s 15 per cent improvement in fuel economy over the F430 as its additional 70bhp. Among some enthusiasts, Ferrari’s choice of gearbox may cause some controversy. For the first time in a Ferrari sports car (and not a GT, which is what Ferrari calls the California), there is no option of a manual transmission. Instead, the 458 Italia has a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, produced for Ferrari by Getrag.
Of course, any observations about styling are entirely subjective but, in our office, the consensus is that the 458 Italia marks a return to sensational-looking Ferraris. With a flat undertray, but without any obvious aero aids, the 458 generates more downforce than the F430 (360kg flat-out) and yet it is also more aerodynamic.
One obvious change from the styling of the car it replaces is that the intakes for the engine bay cooling have been moved from the car’s rear flanks to the undertray, improving the overall efficiency and the operation of the rear diffuser.
Think of a set of performance criteria that a modern supercar should meet and, chances are, you’ll have drawn up a list of performance figures that all but mirror those belonging to the 458 Italia. Its 0-60mph time starts with a three, its top speed starts with a two and, on the way, it passes 100mph in around seven seconds, eases to a standing quarter mile in less than 12sec and breezes past 150mph before a standing kilometre is out.
More impressive than the numbers themselves, though, is the way with which the 458 goes about setting them. Not too many years ago, extracting 562bhp from a naturally aspirated 4.5-litre engine – some 125bhp per litre – would have produced an undriveable, snarling, fire-breather of an engine. Not too many years before that, it would not have happened in a road car at all.
So it’s a testament to advances in production, materials, injection and electronic technology that the 458 happily spins into life without drama and, as early as 3000rpm, is pulling with as much torque as the outgoing F430 gave in total – this despite revving to 9000. By 6500rpm, it has eclipsed the F430’s power output, and the increase in overall power (some 70bhp) is the sort of forward step between model lines that occurs once in a generation. Most remarkable of all, perhaps, is the speed with which the 458 builds its revs. There is no hang, no lag. You ask of the throttle and the engine delivers in an utterly predictable, linear fashion.
Ferrari is an old hand at tuning the sound of a flat-plane cranked V8 so that it sounds like more than just two four-pots screwed together, and this one is no exception. This area of Italy tunes induction and exhaust notes like nowhere else on the planet. The 458 is an aural as well as a technical triumph.
As with the California, the 458’s power is directed to its wheels via a dual-clutch transmission that, some might say (although not us), dilutes the thrill of a single-clutch robotised manual. The efficiency with which it goes about swapping cogs comes with no loss of mechanical feel. The 458, like all current Ferraris, comes as standard with carbon ceramic brakes capable of stopping it repeatedly, from high speed, in no time at all.
Until now, the two best-handling mid-engined cars on sale were the Lotus Evora and Noble M600. Now, the 458 Italia has arrived and, although it hasn’t totally eclipsed them, it sits very comfortably in their company. The other things it can do that they and no other car can, though, are what sets it apart.
For a start, it out-rides the Noble – no surprises there – regardless of whether the two-stage adjustable dampers are set to normal or the softer ‘bumpy road’ setting. Ferrari has resisted the temptation, unlike some manufacturers, to give the two damper modes vastly different settings so that one is too soft and the other all but undriveable outside a newly surfaced race track. Both are broadly usable whatever the conditions, although one is often mildly preferable.
Regardless of the setting, the 458 is (for a supercar) a supple-riding thing whose fast, light steering, at 2.0 turns lock to lock, instantly feels agile. That doesn’t translate to a nervousness around the straight-ahead, mind. It just means that it feels more willing to turn than the M600 and Evora (and any other rival), despite being heavier.
It’s true that the speed and lightness of its rack does rob the 458 of some of the intimacy enjoyed by the Lotus, Noble and, say, a Porsche 911 GT3, but a surprising amount of feel does make its way to the rim. There’s enough, certainly, to make the 458 enjoyable even at the sensible speeds that road conditions generally allow. Such is the 458’s ability that you can cover ground at a fair lick without delving into the depths of its reserves as you would have to in a GT Porsche, a Lexus LF-A or, dare we say, the Noble, despite its power advantage.
Although modest things are being asked of it, the 458 is tactile enough to reward. Closer to its limit, the 458 has all the poise, and more, that we’ve come to expect from a mid-engined V8 Ferrari.
Rivals that do things better are few. The Noble, GT3 RS and Evora all offer arguably more gratifying steering. The Lotus, certainly, has a more playful chassis. But each has its merits and there are more times than not when the Ferrari would be the handling choice.
If you sit in the F430 and then step into the 458 Italia, it feels as though you have skipped two generations, rather than one. Everything in the 458 feels modern and exudes a sense of handcrafted workmanship that was missing from its predecessor.
The protruding, almost abstract-looking vents give the dashboard the appearance of wrapping around the driver, and with most of the controls placed on the steering wheel or to the right of the driver, it is an extremely driver-focused cabin.
It takes some familiarisation to get used to the indicator, windscreen wiper and headlight controls being placed on the steering wheel, but in practice, it’s a very convenient set-up. There is the problem that, with lock applied, the required button could be out of thumb’s reach but, given the 458’s quick steering, it’s rare to need to shuffle the wheel.
Our test car came with £4626 carbonfibre racing seats, which are pricey by any standards but also hard to fault, other than for their lack of height adjustment. A vast personalisation scheme means that the success of any 458 interior will depend on its owner’s choices. Anything from materials and colours to the width of the stitching can be personalised.
Even so, we think that the standard kit could be slightly more generous. Sat-nav should be standard on a car of this price. You don’t buy a Ferrari because it’s cheap, and the 458 is no different. It’s not unreasonable to expect that, after options, it could be nearer £200,000 than the £170,000 sticker price.
But depreciation is predicted to be excellent and, with a four-year, unlimited-mileage warranty, the running costs should be predictably high rather than unexpectedly stratospheric. Given that the few and varied rivals will offer running costs that are no better, if not significantly worse, the Ferrari 458 is a tempting prospect in every respect.
Verdict
When it comes to building road cars, Ferrari is definitely on a bit of a roll at the moment. But even considering the wonderfully desirable 599 GTO, arguably it is the 458 Italia that is Ferrari’s greatest achievement. That isn’t simply because the 458 weaves scintillating ground-covering pace with impressive practicality but also because, for all of its technology, it remains an interactive and deeply satisfying car to drive — be that at three-tenths on a backroad or fully committed at your favourite track.
It is a shame, perhaps, that in the process the price of the entry berlinetta has moved yet further into lottery winner territory but, for sheer ability, the 458 Italia entirely justifies the premium over the F430 that it replaces. The junior Ferrari is now every inch the complete supercar."
Source and data: Ferrari 458 Italia - Autocar.co.uk
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