Road Test Ferrari 458 Italia: heavy artillery

Is the latest “small” Ferrari meeting the expectations of the customers and fans of the brand ?

Five diodes. The first one blinks briefly during heavy downshifts, when revs exceed 5500 rpm. On this road snaking its way along the hills of western Chianti, few stretches allow to dig deeper into the extraordinary range of this engine. Thumbs nestled against the thick rim of the carbon clad steering wheel, the slightest movements of my arms translate into immediate reactions in the front axle, the short nose of the red berlinetta darting towards imaginary apexes. A longer straight opens up, right foot to the floor, the V8 bites hard. Second, third then fourth light up in my peripheral field of vision. The 4.5 liter screams already at full throat, sharpening all my senses. The fifth LED requires courage at first, revs are unnatural, performance is fierce, this car demands respect.

I had to recalibrate my inputs for the first dozens of miles and adjust to the extreme sensitivity of all driver inputs. The steering, designed to be more direct than former models, still has light weighting but is now very sensitive to inputs. Feedback is more filtered, but it is difficult to tell whether it’s the car’s setup or the unconvincing OEM Bridgestone Potenza S001 that are to blame. The throttle pedal has become twitchy, making it difficult to feather it. Same comment for the all important brake pedal whose initial response is unusually aggressive for Ferrari, contrasting with its bite, sometimes timid – insufficient temperature perhaps.

At lift off, the 458 seems to carry a whiff of trailing throttle, sputtering gloriously through its trio of exhaust pipes. A cleaner transition to engine breaking would be more to my taste, but the aural effect is exhilarating from inside and properly evil from outside. With such an engine note on open roads, the Vatican should excommunicate all 458 owners.

Latest addition to the Carz, fleet, the Ferrari 458 Italia is a brand new car, breaking with the 360-F430 lineage, with a wheelbase longer by 50mm and a completely redesigned aerodynamic package. New styling direction as well, with a diving beltline, a curved windshield and two pure arcs highlighting the wedged profile. If the car is beautiful to watch when still, its presence on the road is simply amazing.

The interior design is superb, highlighted by these gigantic, beautifully finished cast aluminum vents. Two configurable LCD screens crimp the rev counter so dark on our test car that it was hardly legible – its crucial 12 o’clock portion is hidden by the steering wheel anyway. Fine leather with red stitching, carbon inserts on the center console, costly options that give this car the refinement and ambiance one expects in this segment. Fit and finish is improving steadily, although a picky eye or ear will be prompt to spot a loose AC console and a few rattles and creaks frankly out of place on such a fresh, barely run-in car.

Driving position is too high at the seats’ lowest setting, offering critically limited head room if you wear a helmet. Track drivers will be well advised to try the car with their favorite protective equipment in conjunction with the optional carbon bucket seats before signing their order form. The standard seats lack lateral support anyway. They are available in three sizes – we still don’t know which our test car had – but they were unsuitable for all body sizes. I found the ergonomics of the new steering wheel design excellent, grouping all blinkers, headlight and wiper commands.

If UNESCO were to care about automotive heritage, the drivetrain of the 458 Italia would be filed immediately as an artifact of world cultural heritage by zealous bureaucrats. The V8 has gained 200 cm3 on the F430 and 430 Scuderia and boasts now 570 hp at a dizzying 9000 rpm – 127 hp per liter, no less – and 540 Nm (398 lb-ft) at 6000 rpm. These specs impress and translate in the real world by breathtaking performance over the entire rev range. In the PR world, the new diva steals the limelight from the 599 GTB Fiorano with a 0-200 km/h (0-124 mph) in 10.4s vs 11s for the 620hp V12.

The seven gear box is up there with the best dual clutch systems, butter smooth in mellow driving, blinding quick on the offense. The flow of torque to the rear wheel is uninterrupted, a grandiose, tireless shove. Over a few days, the gearbox can however exhibit odd differences. Shifts are mostly razor sharp, but the cross-over between the clutches can leave the room to a short rev increase that reminds some early 360 Modena F1. Occasional hesitations during maneuvering are also part of the price to pay for what is otherwise impressive performance. Verdict is clear: this system does everything better than the 430 Scuderia, and that’s no small compliment.

A gutsy engine and a close ratio seven speed gearbox, the recipe results in very impressive in gear acceleration and the feeling that a 430 wouldn’t do any better one gear down. From 3000 to 9000 rpm, the 4.5 liter rushes forward with impressive linearity and savor. With such performance levels and on open roads, keeping the right foot planted till the redline is an adrenaline-inducing exercize in all respects. Gutsy engine, but thirsty too. With an average of 18.9 L/100km (12.4 US mpg) over 2350km (1460mi) including generous legs of freeway travel, and a few tanks at 25.8L/100km (9.12 US mpg) on back roads, Ferrari’s fuel economy improvement claims could not be verified. While fuel costs won’t be a primary concern for the customer base, the range afforded by the 85L tank (5L less than the F430) is going to shrink.

The bumpy road damping mode requested by Michael Schumacher proves to be a real plus on any tarmac that isn’t perfectly smooth. It helps to preserve the 458’s composure, preserving the car’s stability and absorbing the most unsettling bumps. There is a small price to pay in body control on faster sweepers, but it is otherwise well worth it. The car defaults back to the standard harder mode anytime the manettino is actuated, decoupling the two functions would make more sense to us. The Sport mode turns out to be a comfy Grand Turismo setting, with a quiet exhaust and smooth shifts. Overall comfort turns out to be excellent over longer trips. In Race mode, the combined action of the F1-Trac traction control and E-Diff3 differential delivers a bizarre mix of early drifts and abrupt cut-offs to bring the car back inline.

Deactivating F1-Trac altogether by setting the manettino in CT Off mode turned out to be a much better choice, giving more progressive traction and feedback at the limit while the differential extracts maximum grip from the agonizing Bridgestones. The 458 strikes then a perfect chord: supreme acceleration through seamless upshifts, sharp breaking while downshifting in glorious burble, crystal clear turn in, progressive feeding of the throttle at the edge of grip before full throttle. Small car, huge performance.

Handling is even more remarkable when factoring in the weight of the car. The official dry weight were already a hint, the new 458 Italia is measurably heavier than its predecessor. We weighted our test car at 1598kg (3523 lbs with 43/57 front-rear split) with a full tank of gas, forged wheels and nobody or nothing on board, that is a full 124kg (273 lbs) heavier than the F430 we last measured with sport seats and ceramic brakes, and another 50kg (110lbs) heavier than the 430 Scuderia we tested. As for the reasons for such mass, they are difficult to find, as Ferrari isn’t saying much about the design of the 458 shell. Outer dimensions have not changed much, the only obvious difference being the double clutch gearbox.

*Forged 20in rims, standard seats
** model 2009, carbon ceramic discs, carbon bucket seats

This is a concerning trend, quite contradictory with the strategic weight saving objectives gathered around the 2007 Millechili (one thousand kilograms) concept. With a real power-to-weight ratio of 2.8kg/ch, the 458 brings no improvement over the 430 Scuderia, even if still has the advantage of shorter gear ratios and higher torque (540 vs 470 Nm). On open roads, the 458 never felt heavy, but the weight difference might bring a heavier toll on the track. And then there’s the McLaren MP4-12C and it’s stated objective of 1300kg …

The Ferrari 458 Italia is no small achievement, being at the same time more versatile and more savage than the 430 Scuderia. A monument of a drive train, modern design inside and out, an exhaust note to die for, this Ferrari, as imperfect as it is, is a mesmerizing car, a perfect symbol for the country it bears the name of.

Facing competition

Our since thanks to Franck Milet, managing director of Carz, for the loan of the 458 Italia of the club.

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