Perhaps 'calmness' is the wrong word. On
those occasions when you really can attack an empty road the Speciale is
fearsomely fast across the ground, and in CT Off mode you will be adjusting the
balance of the car with power, catching small slides; the ABS might even start
to cut in over nasty bumps. But while the world is on fast-forward there is a
sort of serenity behind the wheel. There are no surprises and you know what the
car is doing... you start to feel as tuned in to the car as all the yaw,
steering-angle and wheel-speed sensors that feed the SSC system with
information. So much so that when you decide to try the Speciale in the raw,
you do so with confidence rather than apprehension. Twist the manettino to the
right, wait for a little double beep and take a deep breath. Now it's just you,
four expensive rubber bands and 597bhp.
Ferrari's
458 Speciale is powered by a 597bhp 4.5-litre V8
There is no great unleashing of the car's
darker side. The SSC is not disguising any nasty traits - you know as much
because it's allowed you to push so far into its limits without so much as a
snag of brakes or cut in power delivery - and the Speciale remains predictable,
exploitable. Only the knowledge that it's you treading the fine line between
elation and disaster makes the thrill even bigger. For a while you might find
yourself driving a little slower, allowing a little more margin for error by
braking earlier and accelerating out of turns more gently. It doesn't last
long. Soon the small slides start to get a little bigger and the car starts to
flow with exactly the same sweet balance and fluid transition between grip and
slip that it's displayed right since the start of this brilliant road.
The
Ferrari has received a significant number of aerodynamic tweaks to improve its
performance
It really is an oversteerer, this car, but
it's so approachable, so deliciously transparent. To be honest it makes the
Italia - a car that remains scintillating compared to pretty much anything else
– feel outmoded. The Speciale is faster and grippier, sure, but what's really
amazing is that it feels so much more 'on it' and yet is easier to read and
ultimately more satisfying to exploit. The Speciale isn't a strictly limited,
er, special, but a series production car. It's not cheap at $353,310 but unless
you feel you need a Spider (and you really don't), then 'this is the 458 to
buy. In fact it's the supercar to buy, full stop.
Other
modifications include slightly thinner rear glass, in order to save weight
We make it back to Fiorano at 4.15pm and
manage a few breathless laps. Of course, it's a huge amount of fun and serves
to highlight the increased front-end grip, greater roll stiffness and the car's
lovely rigid connection between front and rear. The new lighter but more
powerful carbon-ceramics feel terrific too, with none of the strange push-back
you sometimes gee from ocher Ferrari ceramics when they get hot. But the track
session is just a bonus: I already know that the Speciale is something else.
The tight time schedule and the pressure of photography couldn't stand in the
way of this car's outstanding dynamics, the sheer excitement of exploiting its
performance, of revelling in its amazing balance and really driving it - making
it do exactly what you want it to do every millisecond. I'd hoped to steal 20
minutes or so of really getting to know this car; instead the Speciale bared
its soul for four straight hours. So I can be definitive. The 458 Speciale is a
game-changer.
