What of SSC? Well, 'witchcraft' just about
sums it up. It's almost supernatural, allowing you to drive so hard but
remaining - for the most part - invisible. Because of the precision of the
Speciale you naturally gain confidence and naturally seem to drive accurately,
smoothly... but SSC is there to slice away any excesses. On a 20-mile road that
snakes, soars and plunges and is often craggy, I reckon I feel the traction
control cut in three times, despite exiting many of the corners with a good
dose of corrective lock. I know that photography and video demands mean that I
will later have to disable SSC altogether, but otherwise I'm not sure you ever
would.
Narrow
sports seats with ‘technical fabric’, no carpet, no glovebox, and lashings of
carbon and Alcantara
By the time I reach our meeting point, park
up and wait for the wrung-out Musa to appear, the Speciale has given me my 20
minutes of magic. And the best bit of road is yet to come. With the valley
ahead bathed in a pocket of deep yellow sunshine and the road steaming gently
as it unfurls out of sight, I already know that this is going to be one of
those days that don't come around very often even in this job. The numbers,
graphs and calculations are forgotten, the doubts about this car's ability to
engage are blown apart. No suspense necessary: the Speciale is mind-blowing.
There’s
even a handy 230-litre boot on the Ferrari 458 Speciale
Within 30 minutes the road is bone dry and
I can really start to unleash the car's full potential. The direct-injection
4.5-litre V8 really is a masterpiece. In fact it's always been a masterpiece,
but in this application there are a huge number of detail changes that result
in more outright power and more torque across the rev range, although peak
torque remains 398lb ft at 6,000rpm. The Speciale's engine features a new cam
profile that results in five per cent higher valve lift, new inlet manifolds
with 10mm shorter inlet tracts, new cylinder heads, revised piston geometry to
optimise combustion, and carbonfibre plenums and a carbonfibre air filter box
to contribute to an 8kg reduction in overall engine weight. With less internal
friction and that incredible 14:1 compression ratio, it achieves 597bhp at
9,000rpm. Ferrari claims that the Speciale covers 0-62mph in 3sec and 0-124mph
in 9.1. As these sorts of numbers tumble with every new model they seem to mean
less and less, so let's just say that the Speciale is faster than you'll ever
need and as fast as any sane person could ever want, too.
20-inch
forged alloy wheels are fitted front and rear
Strangely, though, the gains in simple
performance terms don't feel as great as I'd expected. The last 458 Italia I
drove (just two days previously) had 40,000 very hard miles under its wheels
and felt just as quick and actually rushed more enthusiastically from 8,000 to
9,000rpm. No matter, it's a remarkable engine and the way it melds thick,
instant torque with that explosive top-end delivery is quite breathtaking. With
just 5,000km showing, I suspect it'll free-up rather nicely in time.
The twin-clutch transmission has benefited
from a new shift strategy, but in truth the supposed faster response time from
paddle to gearchange actuation is impossible to detect on upshifts. However,
the faster rev-match on downshifts does make a difference and it actually makes
braking late into a corner a slightly more brutal process, each shift bringing
a jolt as the gears hit home. It feels like the shifts are completed with no
margin at all. If the clutch closed a millisecond sooner the rear wheels would
lock. It's just another example of the Speciale's incredible sense of purpose.
There is no margin, no slack anywhere in this car. Combining that ferocity with
such calmness and progression at the limit is a deeply impressive balancing
act.
