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Ferrari 458 Italia

Ferrari 458 Italia

Manufacturer	Ferrari
Also called	458 Italia
Production	2009-present
Model years	2010-present
Assembly	Maranello, Italy
Predecessor	Ferrari F430
Body style	2-seat Berlinetta
Layout	Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive
Engine	4.5 L V8
Transmission	7-speed dual-clutch
Wheelbase	2,650 mm (104.3 in)
Length	4,527 mm (178.2 in)
Width	1,937 mm (76.3 in)
Height	1,213 mm (47.8 in)
Curb weight	1,485 kg (3,274 lb)
Designer	Pininfarina

	Ferrari 458 Italia at Goodwood Festival of Speed 2010

The Ferrari 458 Italia is a mid-engined sports car produced by the Italian sports car manufacturer Ferrari. The 458 Italia replaces the Ferrari F430. The 458 Italia was officially unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show on 15 September 2009.

Specifications

In Ferrari's first official announcement of the car, the 458 Italia was described as the successor to the F430 but arising from an entirely new design, incorporating technologies developed from the company's experience in Formula 1.

Engine

The 458 Italia is powered by a 4.5 L (270 cu in) V8 engine derived from a shared Ferrari/Maserati design, producing 570 PS (419 kW; 562 hp) at 9,000 rpm (redline) and 540 N·m (398 lb·ft) at 6,000 rpm with 80% torque available at 3,250 rpm.The engine features direct fuel injection, which is a first for Ferrari mid-engine setups in its road cars. The 4.5 L V8 in the 458 currently holds the world record for most power per liter in a naturally aspirated production car engine.

Transmission

The only transmission available on the 458 is a dual-clutch 7-speed gearbox. There is no traditional manual option, making this the fifth road-car after the Enzo, California, Challenge Stradale and 430 Scuderia not to be offered with Ferrari's classic gated manual. It is the first mainstream model to not be offered with a manual transmission.

Handling

The car's suspension features double wishbones at the front and a multi-link set-up at the rear, coupled with E-Diff and F1-Trac traction control systems, designed to improve the car's cornering and longitudinal acceleration by 32% when compared with its predecessors.

The brakes include a prefill function whereby the pistons in the calipers move the pads into contact with the discs on lift off to minimize delay in the brakes being applied. This combined with the ABS has reduced 100–0 km/h (62-0 mph) braking distance to 32.5 metres (107 ft).

The adaptive magnetorheological dampers are co-developed with BWI Group.

Performance

Ferrari's official 0-100 km/h (62 mph) acceleration is under 3.4 seconds,while top speed is over 325 km/h (202 mph), with a fuel consumption in combined cycle (ECE+EUDC) 13.3 L/100 km (21.2 mpg_-imp; 17.7 mpg_-US) while producing 307g/km of CO₂.

Design

The small aeroelastic winglets generate downforce and, as speed arises, deform to reduce the section of the radiator intake and cut drag.

The body was designed by Pininfarina, as with all recent Ferrari models. The car’s exterior styling and features were designed for aerodynamic efficiency, producing a downforce of 140 kg at 124 miles per hour (200 km/h).In particular, the front grille features deformable winglets that lower at high speeds, in order to offer reduced drag. The car's interior was designed using input from former Ferrari Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher, including a new steering wheel design which incorporates many features and controls as opposed to their being on the dashboard, similar to racing car designs.

According to British car magazine Autocar, the 458 Italia's design has drawn inspiration from the Enzo Ferrari and its Millechili concept car. It has been designed to be Ferrari's sportiest V8-engined car, to distinguish itself from the recently launched Ferrari California.

The 458 was also reviewed on 15th season of Top Gear, where it received acclaim for its styling and performance. In a drag race against a Ferrari F430, it won by a considerable margin. The car also lapped the Top Gear test track in 1:19.1, just 0.1 seconds slower than the Ferrari Enzo.

458 Challenge

The 458 Challenge was presented at the Ferrari Annual Dealer Meeting on 14 July 2010. Ferrari says their newest Challenge racer can lap the Fiorano test track in 1:16.5, which is two seconds faster than its F430 Challenge predecessor and only .2 seconds slower than the Ferrari FXX.

Recall: wheel-arch adhesive fires

On the 24th August 2010, BBC News reported that ten 458s had either crashed or caught fire in just three months. Ferrari responded later that it was aware of the fire-related cases, and was in the process of investigating them.

On September 1, 2010 Ferrari officially recalled all 1,248 of the 458s sold to date. A spokesman commented that the problem had been traced to adhesive used in the wheel-arch assemblies and that, in certain circumstances, the glue could begin to overheat, smoke and even catch fire. In extreme cases the melting adhesive could lead to the heat shield deforming, and hence moving closer to the exhaust, causing the wheel-arch lining to catch fire. Owners who had reported fires, that were later confirmed by independent engineers to be due to this problem, will now receive a new car. All other cars will be modified replacing the adhesive with mechanical fasteners.

458 Spider

458 Italia Spider at the Frankfurt Motor Show 2011.

Ferrari unveiled the 458 Spider at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. This convertible variant of the 458 Italia features an aluminium retractable hardtop which, according to Ferrari, weighs 25 kilograms (55 lb) less than a soft roof such as the one found on the Ferrari F430 Spider, and can be retracted in 14 seconds. The engine cover has been redesigned to cope with the retractable roof system. Ferrari plans to make 1,500-2,000 458 Spiders every year.It has the same 0-60 time as the hard-top but it will only do 198 mph.

Racing

Ferrari 458 GTC

458 Italia GTC

Ferrari unveiled their new GTE racer for the 2011 races sanctioned by the ACO. The 458 GTC drops the "flex splitter" found in the road cars and replaced with a more conventional inlet, with the air exit out through louvers in the bonnet. Under new restrictor regulations, the 4.5L engine produces 464 hp (346 kW; 470 PS), which is less than the road car and the 458 Challenge. The double-clutch gearbox had to be replaced but paddle-shifting is retained since rules in 2011 allow them. 6 Ferrari 458 Italia GTCs are on the entry list in 2011 Le Mans 24 Hours, backed by 4 older F430 GTCs. Ferrari 458 GTCs also compete in the American Le Mans Series, FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series.

So far, the 458 Italia GTC has had an excellent racing record. The car has finished 2nd in the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans, 1st at the 2011 Petit Le Mans, 3rd at the 2012 12 Hours of Sebring, and has won both the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup and the 2011 Le Mans Series.

458 Italia GT3

Ferrari also unveiled a GT3 version of the Ferrari 458 in 2011. The car is heavier but more powerful than the GTC version, producing closer to 500 HP. The aerodynamics of the car are also slightly different due to different aero regulations. The GT3 version lacks traction control and ABS. The 458 Italia GT3 is involved in numerous racing series including the FIA GT3 European Championship, FIA GT1 World Championship, Blancpain Endurance Series, International GT Open, and numerous other national GT3 championships. The car won the 2011 FIA GT3 European Championship by the team AF Corse.

458 Italia Grand-Am

In 2012, Ferrari developed a modified version of the 458 GT3 for Grand-Am. The car is heavier and produces less downforce than the GT3 car; the engine is also restricted more heavily. The rollcage is also modified due to stricter safety regulations. The car debuted at the 2012 24 Hours of Daytona.

Awards

Auto Zeitung magazine awarded Ferrari 458 Spider "Best Cabrio 2011".Motor Trend awarded the Ferrari 458 Italia with the title of "Best Driver's Car" in 2011