Inside it's all business. Bare floors,
polished carbon door trims, Alcantara everywhere and a gorgeous little arc of
carbonfibre with buttons marked 'R', 'Auto' and 'Launch' sprouting up from the
centre console. The hexagonal steering wheel still groans with controls and the
general architecture of the dash is perhaps over-styled, but the Speciale
exudes a sense of purpose. My sort of car.
But there's more to it than just the
stripped-back vibe and aero addenda. By the time I'd pulled out of Fiorano's
electric gates (they slide open infuriatingly slowly if you're on a tight
schedule), the Speciale already felt different. With every mile that impression
intensifies. I'd expected differences, of course. A slightly firmer ride,
perhaps an even more responsive front end (in fact I'd feared as much as the
458 is so hyper-alert it sometimes feels unnaturally jumpy), more volume and
even more bite at high revs. I'd also expected each constituent part of the
dynamic changes to reveal themselves one by one, like a kind of engineering
striptease. Instead the Speciale bombards you in one great wave of revelation.
The firmer ride has no hint of harshness and it's wedded so beautifully to a
heavier, even more accurate but somehow more deliberate steering system, more
consistent and responsive brakes and the sweet brutality of the gearbox. Your
brain seems to breathe in all this information in the same split-second. The
Speciale isn't stiffer, faster, louder ... it's just beautifully wrought,
cohesive and, no question, it feels more serious, more focused and just plain
better.
Features
like climate control are predictably standard
Compromises? Well, it's here on the mundane
pan of our journey that they should really tell. Yet the ride is perfectly
acceptable and if you select the 'bumpy road' mode, the Speciale is as supple
as you could reasonably expect. Firm, yes, but rounding off the worst imperfections.
It is noticeably noisier than the Italia, though. It doesn't howl and shriek
quite as manically as a 430 Scuderia, but the engine can drone away if you're
in Race mode or upwards, and even if you're in the quieter Wet or Sport
manettino settings there's ever-present road noise that drums up through the
bare floors. In a car of this potential and focus it's far from a deal-breaker.
I'd happily drive this car for six hours straight, especially if it delivered
me to a road like the one that's climbing up and into that stubborn fog...
Rotary
switch allows for convenient, quick and easy changes of driving mode
The surface is glistening under a fresh
dumping of rain and it's maybe 8deg C. The Speciale wears unique Michelin Pilot
Cup 2 tyres - the same basic tyre as we've recently tried on the GT3 and SLS
Black Series – and I'm keen to find out how they cope. The GT3 is freakishly
good in wet conditions but the stiffer, wider SLS can be plain terrifying.
Ferrari last night said that the old Cup+ tyres, as fitted to the 997 GT3, were
too compromised to be fitted to one of their cars, but that they're delighted
with the Cup 2s. With the manettino wound around to 'CT Off' (well, I'm
intrigued about this SSC witchcraft), this should be some test.
The
instrumentation is clear and shows all that is necessary
In short the Speciale shrugs off the
conditions and simply dances over this seriously testing road that's slick with
moisture and fallen leaves. Again it's the cohesiveness that shines. Grip is
astounding and the heavier steering provides something to lean against and
accurately relays an impression of the surface and the tyres' grasp on it.
Where an Italia would be tiptoeing, the Speciale feels like it has spikes
digging deep. The front and rear axles feel completely locked together too, so
as you lean on the front tyres so you load up the rears, creating an amazingly
neutral balance.
