With nearly 600bhp, a revised
chassis, a host of new aerodynamic features and the all-important stripe, the
458 Speciale takes Ferrari’s mid-engined V8 supercar to a whole new level
The press conference for the new Ferrari
458 Speciale is intense. It's gone 8pm before it starts and past 10.30pm when
it ends. It's fascinating, mind-boggling, heart-warming and head-spinning all
at the same time. There are graphs, charts and calculations, gorgeous
components to handle, a visit to the foundry to see liquid alloys being poured
and cooled, a glimpse of the wind tunnel and an explanation of the new and
spooky-sounding Side Slip Angle Control system.
With its V8 howl, pulverising performance, top
handling and racing heritage, the Speciale is one of the greatest performance
cars
The nuggets of information are compelling.
The familiar but searing 4.5-litre V8 now produces 597bhp at 9,000rpm (up from
562bhp), its 133bhp per litre made possible by a staggering 14:1 compression
ratio (rather than the standard 458's 12.5:1). This greater output is pushing
90kg less too, thanks to a carbonfibre underbody, thinner glass for the
windscreen and side windows, a Lexan engine cover, new and lighter ceramic
brakes, forged wheels and an interior stripped bare. Every element of this
Speciale has been uprated and pared back. There are new magnetic dampers with
twin solenoids and a new CPU that can modify the magnetic field and hence
damper response every millisecond. There are stiffer springs and new anti-roll
bars. The gearshift logic is revised and cuts the time it takes the engine
speed to match the gear ratio on downshifts by 44 percent - hard to believe if
you've ever experienced the silky ferocity of the Italia's gearbox.
The
vertical guide vanes either side of the silver prancing horse are pushed open
at 170kph to reduce the volume of air entering the radiators and cut drag
The Speciale also features some pretty
trick active aerodynamics that manage the aero balance as speeds increase and
also reduce drag to allow the car to run to over 202mph. Next generation
carbon-ceramic brakes derived from the LaFerrari reduce stopping distances,
while pad life should be four times longer than before. The discs remain 398mm
at the from and 360mm at the rear yet the calipers and pads are actually
smaller, but thanks to a new higher silicon content structure the performance
increase is said to be marked. To reach the same level with the system fined to
the Italia would have required 410mm discs and a lot more unsprung weight. It's
about now that you start to almost believe Ferrari's assertion that this isn't
a 'version' of the 458 Italia, but a whole new car.
The
Speciale features a new design of caliper, plus discs with a higher silicone
content and pads that are 20% smaller than a 458’s
The final stop on this mind-scrambling tour
is Fiorano. There's a gorgeous Speciale parked to our left and more screens
with more graphs and charts dead ahead. All around are rumbling stomachs and
the scent of the grey-matter of the assembled journalists being fried. And it's
about to get even more baffling, for this is where Ferrari will explain its new
Side Slip Angle Control (SSC) system. The concept behind it is to allow all
drivers to explore the depth of the Speciale's ability with as little
electronic intervention as possible but still with a degree of assistance
should they overstep the mark. And to make the Speciale faster. Of course,
every high-performance car now offers a less intrusive stability control
setting... but this is something different.
