The Ferrari 458 Italia (Type F142) is a

mid-engine In automotive engineering, a mid-engine layout describes the placement of an automobile engine in front of the rear-wheel axles, but behind the front axle. History The mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive format can be considered the original layout of ...

sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

produced by Ferrari. The F458 is the successor of the F430, and was first officially unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. It was succeeded by the 488 GTB (Gran Turismo Berlinetta), which was unveiled at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show. It was made by hand at Ferrari headquarters in Marranelo, Italy.

Specifications

In Ferrari's first official announcement of the car, the 458 was described as the successor to the F430 but arising from an entirely new design, incorporating technologies developed from the company's experience in

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

. The body computer system was developed by

Magneti Marelli Magneti Marelli S.p.A. () is an Italian developer and manufacturer of components for the automotive industry. The firm is headquartered in Corbetta, Italy, and includes 86 manufacturing plants, 12 R&D centres, and 26 application centers in 19 c ...

Engine

The 458 is powered by a engine of the "Ferrari/Maserati" F136 V8 family, generating a power output of at 9,000 rpm ( redline) and of torque at 6,000 rpm with 80% torque available at 3,250 rpm. The engine features direct fuel injection, which is a first for Ferrari mid-engine setups in its road cars.

Transmission

The only transmission available on the 458 is a 7-speed

dual-clutch A dual-clutch transmission (DCT) (sometimes referred to as a twin-clutch transmission) is a type of multi-speed vehicle transmission system, that uses two separate clutches for odd and even gear sets. The design is often similar to two separat ...

automatic gearbox by

Getrag Getrag (), stylized as GETRAG, was a major supplier of transmission systems for passenger cars and commercial vehicles. The company was founded on 1 May 1935, in Ludwigsburg, Germany, by Hermann Hagenmeyer; as the ''Getriebe und Zahnradfabrik ...

, in a different state of tune shared with the

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG (C197 / R197) is a front mid-engine, 2-seater, limited production grand tourer developed by the Mercedes-AMG division of German automotive manufacturer Mercedes-Benz, with the assistance of David Coulthard. The car is ...

. There is no traditional manual option, making this the first mainstream model to not be offered with a manual transmission.

Handling

The car's suspension has double wishbones at the front and a multi-link setup at the rear, coupled with E-Diff and F1-Trac

traction control system A traction control system (TCS), also known as ASR (from german: Antriebsschlupfregelung, lit=drive slippage regulation), is typically (but not necessarily) a secondary function of the electronic stability control (ESC) on production motor vehicle ...

s, designed to improve the car's cornering and longitudinal acceleration by 32% when compared with its predecessors. The brakes include a prefill function whereby the pistons in the calipers move the pads into contact with the discs on lift off to minimize delay in the brakes being applied. This, combined with the ABS and standard Carbon Ceramic brakes, have caused a reduction in stopping distance from 100–0 km/h (62-0 mph) to . Tests have shown the car will stop from 100 km/h (62.1 mph) in or in with run flat tires, from 60 mph (97 km/h) and from 60 mph (97 km/h) with run flat tires. The adaptive

magnetorheological damper A magnetorheological damper or magnetorheological shock absorber is a damper filled with magnetorheological fluid, which is controlled by a magnetic field, usually using an electromagnet.BWI Group BWI Group, also known as BeijingWest Industries, is a supplier of brake and suspension systems headquartered in Beijing, China. The company acquired the Chassis Division of Delphi on November 1, 2009. The brake and suspension business lines were ...

Performance

Ferrari 458 Spider - Flickr - Alexandre Prévot (18)

Ferrari's official 0– acceleration is 3.4 seconds. The top speed is over . It has fuel consumption in combined cycle (ECE+EUDC) of while producing 307 g/km of CO₂.

Design

In keeping with Ferrari tradition, the body was designed by

Pininfarina Pininfarina S.p.A. (short for Carrozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 December 2015, the Indian ...

under the leadership of

Donato Coco Donato Coco is an Italian car designer born in Foggia, Italy in 1956. He is known for designing automobiles for Citroën, but even more well-known for designing some of Ferrari's recent cars. Coco was Lotus Head of Design from 2009 to November 20 ...

, the Ferrari design director during 2009. The interior design of the Ferrari 458 Italia was done by Bertrand Rapatel (Director of Ferrari Interior Design), a French automobile designer. The car's exterior styling and features were designed for aerodynamic efficiency, producing downforce of at . In particular, the front grille features deformable winglets that lower at high speeds, in order to offer reduced drag. The car's interior was designed using input from former Ferrari Formula 1 driver

Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...

; in a layout common to racing cars, the new steering wheel incorporates many controls normally located on the dashboard or on stalks, such as turning signals or high beams. According to British car magazine '' Autocar'', the 458 Italia's design has drawn inspiration from the

Enzo Ferrari Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Maria Ferrari (; 20 February 1898 – 14 August 1988) was an Italian motor racing driver and entrepreneur, the founder of the Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing team, and subsequently of the Ferrari automobil ...

and its Millechili concept car. It has been designed to be Ferrari's sportiest V8-engined car, to distinguish itself from the entry level

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Variants

458 Spider (2011–2015)

The 458 Spider was introduced at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. This

convertible A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers. A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving expe ...

variant of the 458 Italia features an aluminium

retractable hardtop A retractable hardtop — also known as "coupé convertible" or "coupé cabriolet" — is a car with an automatically operated, self-storing hardtop, as opposed to the folding textile-based roof used by traditional convertible cars. The benefits ...

which, according to Ferrari, weighs less than a soft roof such as the one found on the Ferrari F430 Spider, and requires 14 seconds for operation. The engine cover has been redesigned to accommodate the retractable roof system. It has the same 0–100 km/h (62 mph) acceleration time as the coupé but has a lower top speed of due to the added weight.

458 Speciale (2013–2015)

The 458 Speciale was unveiled in 2013 at the

Frankfurt Motor Show The International Motor Show Germany or International Mobility Show Germany, in German known as the ''Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung'' (''IAA'' – International Automobile Exhibition), is one of the world's largest mobility shows. It cons ...

as the high performance variant of the 458 Italia. Distinctions of the Speciale over the standard 458 Italia are the forged wheels, vented bonnet, finned side sills, a taller rear

spoiler Spoiler is a security vulnerability on modern computer central processing units that use speculative execution. It exploits side-effects of speculative execution to improve the efficiency of Rowhammer and other related memory and cache attacks. Ac ...

and redesigned bumpers, which include active aerodynamics designed by Ferrari Styling Centre in cooperation with

; front and rear movable flaps balance

downforce Downforce is a downwards lift force created by the aerodynamic features of a vehicle. If the vehicle is a car, the purpose of downforce is to allow the car to travel faster by increasing the vertical force on the tires, thus creating more grip ...

and cut drag at speed. The engine was revised, with power increased to at 9,000 rpm and of torque at 6,000 rpm. Electronic systems were updated too and side

slip angle In vehicle dynamics, slip angle or sideslip angle is the angle between the direction in which a wheel is pointing and the direction in which it is actually traveling (i.e., the angle between the forward velocity vector v_x and the vector su ...

control (SSC) was introduced to improve car control on the limit. SSC performs instant-to-instant analysis of the car's

side-slip A slip is an aerodynamic state where an aircraft is moving ''somewhat'' sideways as well as forward relative to the oncoming airflow or relative wind. In other words, for a conventional aircraft, the nose will be pointing in the opposite directio ...

, comparing it with the target value and then optimising both torque management (via integration with F1-Trac traction control) and torque distribution between the two wheels (via integration with the E-Diff electronic differential]). The Speciale accelerates from 0 to in 3.0 seconds, 0– in 9.1 seconds. Ferrari declared a Fiorano test track lap time of 1:23.5, only 0.5 seconds slower than the F12 berlinetta. Lateral acceleration now reaches 1.33 g. Only 3,000 were made.

458 Speciale A (2014–2015)

The 458 Speciale A is the convertible variant of the 458 Speciale which was unveiled at the 2014 Paris Motor Show. The 'A' stands for 'Aperta', which is Italian for 'open' – and the model was limited to only 499 examples (49 RHD examples). Just like the Speciale coupé, the Aperta has a 4.5-litre naturally aspirated V8 engine which generates a power output of and of torque. 0–100 km/h (62 mph) takes 3.0 seconds and the Spider is capable of a top speed of . It was the most powerful, street-legal, naturally aspirated Ferrari automobile the company had ever launched in a convertible variant, until it was surpassed by the naturally aspirated V12 of the LaFerrari Aperta in 2017.

Special Editions

458 Italia China Edition (2012)

The 2012 458 Italia China Edition is a limited (20 units) version of the 458 Italia for the Chinese market, built to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Ferrari in China since the first Ferrari, a 348 TS, was ordered in Beijing. It is distinguished by its Marco Polo Red body colour, golden dragon graphic on the front bonnet, gold and black livery stripes symbolising a racing track, gold painted wheels, gold aeroelastic winglets, gold embroidery on the car's head rests, engine start button inscribed with the simplified Chinese characters for 'start' and a '20th Anniversary Special Edition' plaque on the dash. The vehicle was unveiled at the Italia Center of Shanghai World Expo Park.

One-offs

SP12 EC (2012)

The Ferrari SP12 EC is a

one-off In the field of vehicles authorized to drive, a one-off vehicle is a vehicle that was manufactured only once. The production of unique vehicles is reduced to one unit in each case. The easiest cases to analyze are those of cars and motorcycles. Un ...

built by Ferrari for English musician Eric Clapton under Ferrari's Special Projects programme, and based on the 458 Italia. It was revealed in May 2012 and shown at the 2013

Goodwood Festival of Speed The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an annual motorsports festival featuring modern and historic motor racing vehicles taking part in a hill climb and other events, held in the grounds of Goodwood House, West Sussex, England, in late June or ...

. The bespoke SP12 EC's bodywork is inspired by that of the

Ferrari 512 BB The Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer (BB) is series of sports cars produced by Ferrari in Italy between 1973 and 1984. The BB was designed by Leonardo Fioravanti at Pininfarina. The first BB model, the 365 GT4 BB, replaced the front engined Daytona and ...

, and was designed by Ferrari Styling Centre in collaboration with

. It uses the mechanicals of the 458 Italia, including its 4.5-litre V8 engine and seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, although many of the car's technical details are considered confidential. The car reportedly cost £3,000,000.

Pininfarina Sergio (2013)

Pininfarina Sergio, GIMS 2015 (Ank Kumar, Infosys Ltd) 07

The Pininfarina

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...

, named in memory of long standing chairman

Sergio Pininfarina Sergio Pininfarina, born Sergio Farina, (8 September 1926
. – 3 July 2012) was an Italian

, is a modern interpretation of the 2-seater barchetta built upon the 458 Spider's mechanicals. In keeping with the traditional open barchetta body style, it has no windshield; two matching helmets are provided for the driver and passenger. Geneva MotorShow 2013 - Pininfarina Sergio right front view

Geneva MotorShow 2013 - Pininfarina Sergio right front view

The car was first shown in March 2013 at the Geneva Motor Show. According to Pininfarina, the Sergio was developed like a production car, and therefore it could be produced in limited numbers. Ferrari built six units of the Ferrari Sergio in collaboration with

in 2015 and sold it to handpicked customers. The production version incorporates a

targa top Targa top, or targa for short, is a semi-convertible car body style with a removable roof section and a full width roll bar behind the seats. The term was first used on the 1966 Porsche 911 Targa, and it remains a registered trademark of Porsc ...

body style due to complexities and high production costs arising in producing the original design of the car. They use the engine of the 458 Speciale and each unit reportedly cost

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

3,000,000. The yellow and matte black car shown at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show was delivered new to its first owner in Switzerland. Its VIN is ZFF75VHB000205529 and it was offered at RM Sotheby's Monaco auction in May 2018. The car had from new and an estimate of €2,500,000 - €3,000,000. The car sold for an unknown amount. A silver (Argento Nürburgring) and matte black car was offered for sale at Gooding and Co's 2019 Pebble Beach auction with 78 miles from new and an estimate of $2,500,000 - $3,000,000. The car's VIN is ZFF75VFA5E0205934 and it was delivered new to a European racing driver. It didn't sell then.

458 MM Speciale (2016)

The 458 Speciale MM is a

based on a

Ferrari 458 Speciale The Ferrari 458 Italia (Type F142) is a Mid-engine design, mid-engine sports car produced by Ferrari. The F458 is the successor of the Ferrari F430, F430, and was first officially unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show#2009, 2009 Frankfurt Motor ...

and built for a British customer. The design pays homage to the

Ferrari 288 GTO The Ferrari GTO (often referred to as Ferrari 288 GTO) (Type F114) is an exotic homologation of the Ferrari 308 GTB produced from 1984 to 1987 in Ferrari's Maranello factory, designated GT for Gran Turismo and O for ''Omologata'' (homologated i ...

and incorporates handcrafted aluminium and carbon fibre components.

Racing

458 Challenge

The 458 Challenge is a race car designed to participate in the

Ferrari Challenge The Ferrari Challenge is a single-marque motorsport championship that was created in 1993 for owners of the 348 Berlinetta who wanted to become involved in racing. The series was proposed by Ferrari Club Nederland founder and President Hans ...

. It was presented at the Ferrari Annual Dealer Meeting on 14 July 2010 for the 2011 Ferrari Challenge season. The 458 Challenge Evo was introduced for the 2014 season and was replaced by the 488 Challenge for the 2017 season. Hence both variants of the 458 Challenge were used as the prime Challenge car for three seasons, the 458 Challenge for 2011 to 2013 and the 458 Challenge Evo for 2014 to 2016. According to Ferrari the standard (non-Evo) 458 Challenge can lap the Fiorano test track in 1:16.5, which is two seconds faster than its F430 Challenge predecessor and only 0.2 seconds slower than the

Ferrari FXX The Ferrari FXX is a high-performance track-only developmental prototype built by Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari. The FXX is based on the street-legal flagship Enzo Ferrari. Production of the FXX began in 2005. Overview The FXX uses ...

. Given the Evo upgrade, the 458 Challenge Evo is faster around the Fiorano test track than the Ferrari FXX. Weight of the 458 Challenge was reduced from the standard 458 through the use of thinner body panels, carbon fibre replacement panels, and polycarbonate windows and windshield. Other differences over the regular road legal 458 include a racing cockpit with a Sabelt racing seat and six-point seat-belt harness, detachable steering wheel using a Lifeline quick-detach, plumbed-in Lifeline fire extinguisher system, air-jack mounting on the rear to lift the car up, racing fuel filler cap, center-lock wheels, a racing exhaust as well as tow hooks on the front and rear. The 2014 Evo upgrade was mainly focused on improving the aerodynamics of the 458 Challenge, with the most obvious change being the inclusion of a large rear wing. Ferrari sold an Evo upgrade kit, so that pre-2014 458 Challenge cars could be upgraded by Ferrari dealers and race teams to Evo spec. Total production of the 458 Challenge and 458 Challenge Evo combined is just under 150 cars. Of this total, production of the Evo version is estimated at 30%, meaning that just over 100 458 Challenges and a little under 50 458 Challenge Evos were produced. It is estimated that between five and ten cars were destroyed through accidents each season, meaning that somewhere between 25 and 50 458 Challenge cars have been lost with the remaining cars possibly numbering less than 100.

458 Italia GT2

Ferrari unveiled their new

GTE GTE Corporation, formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation (1955–1982), was the largest independent telephone company in the United States during the days of the Bell System. The company operated from 1926, with roots tracing furth ...

class racer in 2011 to take part in Championships sanctioned by ACO and

FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backs ...

. The 458 Italia GT2 drops the "flex splitter" found in the road cars in favour of a more conventional inlet, with the air exiting out through the louvers in the bonnet. Under new restrictor regulations, the 4.5-litre V8 engine generates a power output of , which is less than the road car and the 458 Challenge. Unlike the road car, which has a high-revving low-torque engine, the engine in the GT2 version only has a red line of 6,250 rpm, but maintains a close-to-stock torque number even with the horsepower loss. The double-clutch gearbox had to be replaced, but paddle-shifting is retained since the amended rules in 2011 allow them. So far the 458 Italia GT2 has had an impressive racing record. The car won the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

and 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans, the

2012 12 Hours of Sebring The 60th Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring was the 60th running of the 12 Hours of Sebring, an auto race held at the Sebring International Raceway from 15–17 March 2012. The race served as the opening round for both the inaugural FIA W ...

and two editions of the

Petit Le Mans The Petit Le Mans (French for ''little Le Mans'') is a sports car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, USA. It uses the rules established for the 24 Hours of Le Mans by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), which ...

, the first in 2011 and the second in

. In 2011, the 458 Italia GT2 took the

Intercontinental Le Mans Cup The Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (shortened ILMC) was an endurance sports car racing tournament organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) started in 2010.

GTE Manufacturers' and the GTE PRO Team Titles, the

Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

GTE Manufacturers' and GTE PRO Team and Drivers' honours and the

International GT Open The International GT Open is a grand tourer-style sports car racing series founded in 2006 by the Spanish GT Sport Organización. It was a spin-off of the now-defunct Spanish GT Championship, but is now a distinct series featuring FIA GT3-spec ca ...

Overall and Super GT Team and Drivers' crowns. The following year, with the creation of an FIA-managed World Championship, the car obtained the GTE Manufacturers' and GTE PRO Team Titles in the FIA World Endurance Championship. In the same year the Italian car gained the

European Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the ...

GTE PRO Team and Drivers' honours and the

Overall and Super GT Manufacturers', Team and Drivers' crowns. In 2013 the car repeated its successes, winning the FIA World Endurance Championship GTE Manufacturers', GTE PRO Team, GTE Drivers' and GTE AM Team Titles, the

GTE Team and Drivers' honours, the

Asian Le Mans Series The Asian Le Mans Series is an Asian sports car racing endurance series created by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and based in Asia. It is the successor to the defunct Japan Le Mans Challenge which folded in 2007 after its second season. ...

GTE Team and Drivers' crowns and the

Overall and Super GT Manufacturers' and Drivers' Titles. In 2014 the 458 Italia GT2 achieved, for the third straight year, the FIA World Endurance Championship GTE Manufacturers' and GTE PRO Team honours, as well as, for the second time in a row, the GTE Drivers' crown (which had been instituted in 2013). For the fourth time the car also clinched the

GTE Team and Drivers' Titles, but it didn't take part in the

and

Championships (the 458 Italia GT3 raced in both these series that year). In 2015, the Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 cars competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship,

and

Tudor United SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMS ...

. The car was replaced for the 2016 season by the Ferrari 488 GTE.

458 Italia GT3

Ferrari also unveiled a GT3 version of the Ferrari 458 Italia in 2011. The car is slightly lighter and more powerful than the GT2 version, generating a power output closer to and has a red-line of 9,000 rpm. The engine thus performs more similarly to that of the road car than the GT2 version. The aerodynamics of the car are also slightly different due to different aero regulations. The 458 Italia GT3 has achieved many important victories in its career. It has won six times the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (two in the GT3 PRO AM category and two in the Gentlemen Trophy), four times the

Gulf 12 Hours The Gulf 12 Hours is a 12-hour annual GT endurance racing event that usually takes place at the Yas Marina Circuit in the United Arab Emirates except in January 2021 when it was held at the Bahrain International Circuit. It has been held since ...

(three overall and one in the Gentlemen Trophy), the 2013 and 2014 12 Hours of Sepang, the 2014 and 2015

24 Hours of Dubai The Dubai 24 Hour Race is both a sports car and touring car automobile endurance race held annually at the Dubai Autodrome. It was inaugurated in 2006. Entrants and participants As with all races in the 24H Series, promoted by Dutch promoter C ...

in the A6-AM class, the 2014 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour at the famous Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst and the 2014 24 Hours of Barcelona. The 458 Italia GT3 holds the record for the number of titles won in many international Championships. In the

Blancpain Endurance Series The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, formerly for sponsorship reasons the Blancpain Endurance Series from 2011 to 2015 and Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup from 2016 to 2019, is a sports car racing series developed by SRO Motorsports Gr ...

it took the 2011, 2012 and 2014 GT3 PRO AM Team and Drivers' crowns and the 2013 and 2014 Gentlemen Trophy Team and Drivers' honours, while in the

, since the creation by the ACO of a GT3 class, clinched the 2013 and 2014 GTC Team and Drivers' Titles. In the

the

Maranello Maranello ( Modenese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy, 18 km from Modena, with a population of 17,504 as of 2017. It is known worldwide as the home of Ferrari and the Formula 1 rac ...

car gained the 2011, 2012 and 2014 GTS Team and Drivers' crowns, the 2012, 2013 and 2014 GTS Manufacturers' honours and the 2014 Overall and Super GT Drivers' Titles. The 458 Italia GT3 has also a strong racing record in the most important Asian GT series, the GT3 Asia, in which it achieved the 2011 Drivers' crown and the 2012 and 2014 Team and Drivers' honours. The car has also been driven to win the 2011

FIA GT3 Group GT3, known technically as Cup Grand Touring Cars and commonly referred to as simply GT3, is a set of regulations maintained by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) for grand tourer racing cars designed for use in various au ...

Drivers' Title, the 2013

GTC Team and Drivers' crowns and successes in national Championships like French GT,

British GT The British GT Championship is a sports car racing series based predominantly in the United Kingdom. The series was originally created by the British Racing Drivers' Club in 1993 and, for its first two seasons, was known as the National Sports GT ...

, Italian GT, GTSprint and Supercar Challenge. In 2015, the 458 Italia GT3 was involved in numerous racing series, including

, GT3 Asia,

Pirelli World Challenge The GT World Challenge America is a North American auto racing series launched in 1990 by the Sports Car Club of America. It has been managed by the Stephane Ratel Organisation since 2018, and has been sanctioned by the United States Auto Club si ...

, Blancpain Sprint Series,

Australian GT Championship The Australian GT Championship is a CAMS-sanctioned national title for drivers of GT cars, held annually from 1960 to 1963, from 1982 to 1985 and from 2005. Each championship up to and including the 1963 title was contested over a single race a ...

and many other national GT3 Championships.

458 Italia Grand-Am

In 2012, Ferrari developed a modified version of the 458 GT3 for

Grand-Am Grand-Am Road Racing or Grand-Am was an auto racing sanctioning body that was established in 1999 to organize road racing competitions in North America. Its primary focus was the Rolex Sports Car Series, an endurance racing championship series. ...

. The car weighs the same but produces less downforce than the GT3 car; the engine is also restricted more heavily, generating a power output of and having an 8,000 rpm redline. Instead of a

automatic transmission An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving ...

, the car is fitted with a conventional

sequential manual transmission A sequential manual transmission, also known as a sequential gearbox, or a sequential transmission, is a type of non-synchronous manual transmission used mostly for motorcycles and racing cars. It produces faster shift times than traditional ...

. The roll-cage is also modified due to stricter safety regulations. The Grand-Am version lacks traction control and ABS. The car debuted at the

2012 24 Hours of Daytona The 2012 Rolex 24 at Daytona was a long-distance motor race for sports cars conforming to the regulations of the Grand-Am Road Racing series. The race was held over a duration of 24 hours, starting at 3:30pm on Saturday, January 28, finish ...

. AimAutosport.com is the first team to win with the new 458 Italia Grand-Am spec. On 9 Sept. 2012, drivers Jeff Segal and Emil Assentato finished second at Laguna Seca and clinched the Grand-Am Rolex GT championship.

Awards

The 458 won "Car of the Year 2009" and "Supercar of the Year". It also won "Cabrio of the Year 2011" for the Spider, from ''Top Gear'' magazine. ''

Auto Zeitung ''Autozeitung'' or ''Auto Zeitung'' (German: "Automobile Newspaper") is a German-language biweekly automobile enthusiast magazine. It is headquartered in Cologne, Germany. History and profile ''Autozeitung'' was established in 1969. The magazine ...

'' magazine awarded the Ferrari 458 Spider "Best Cabrio 2011". ''

Motor Trend ''MotorTrend'' is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, and designated the first Car of the Year, also in 1949. Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles published ''MotorTrend'' until 1998, when it was sold to ...

'' awarded the Ferrari 458 Italia the title of "Best Driver's Car" in 2011. The 458 Speciale won Top Gear's Supercar of the Year 2013 and James May's Car of the Year.

Recalls

Wheel-arch adhesive fires

On 24 August 2010,

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

reported that ten 458s had either crashed or caught fire in just three months. Ferrari responded later that it was aware of the fire-related cases, and was in the process of investigating them. On 1 September 2010 Ferrari officially recalled all 1,248 of the 458s sold to date. A spokesman commented that the problem had been traced to an adhesive used in the wheel-arch assemblies and that, in certain circumstances, the glue could begin to overheat, smoke and even catch fire. In extreme cases the melting adhesive could lead to the heat shield deforming, and hence moving closer to the exhaust, causing the wheel-arch lining to catch fire. Owners who had reported fires, that were later confirmed by independent engineers to be due to this problem, received a new car. All other cars were modified by replacing the adhesive with mechanical fasteners.

Engine seizure

In 2012, Ferrari recalled certain 2011 and 2012 US market cars because the engine could seize suddenly and possibly cause a crash. The F136 engines had incorrectly mounted crankshafts. The manufacturer learned of one such incident from a review car lent to critics. Owners could choose from having a new engine installed by their dealer, having the engine removed and the work done by Ferrari North America or having a new crankshaft and bearings installed at the dealership.

Marketing

Bburago-may cheong group-ferrari 458 Italia

Hot Wheels produced a 1:18 scale model of the 458 Italia, Spider, GT2, Challenge, China Edition and, later, the Speciale versions under both its regular "Mattel / Heritage" and premium "Elite" and "Super Elite" lines of collectible die-cast models.

Bburago Bburago is an Italian brand and former manufacturing company of toys and die-cast scale model cars. The company was based in Burago di Molgora, where all products were made from 1974 to 2005. At its most popular, Bburago's main competitors were ...

also produced variants of the 458, such as the Italia, Spider and Challenge, in diecast in 1:18, 1:24, 1:32, and 1:43 scales under its "Race and play" line up. The Speciale version in 1:18 scale followed later under both its "Race and play" and "Signature series" lineups.

Illicit trade practices investigation

After the Ferrari 458 Italia had been reported to cost much more in China than the United States, the Chinese Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) began working in conjunction with the National Development and Reform Commission for possible price-fixing, despite automakers' claim of a 24% import tariff, 17% value-added tax, and a consumption tax having been added to the car's price.

References

External links

Official Ferrari 458 Italia page

Pininfarina Sergio page
{{WEC cars 2016 458 Italia Sports cars Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive vehicles Cars introduced in 2009 2010s cars 24 Hours of Le Mans race cars