Len's News, Notes, and Stuff

Ferrari 458 Italia – Carpornstar of the Year, 2010

I love Ferrari racecars, and the 458 Italia is the new “production model Berlinetta” (aka “cheap” Ferrari) in the elite stable from Modena, Italy. Watching videos of cool racecars that get your heart racing, but which you aren’t likely to own or drive anytime soon, is the very definition of watching carporn. This year’s star, in my opinion, is the Ferrari 458 Italia.

The 458 follows in the footsteps of the great 355, 360, and 430. Each step of the way, Ferrari has upped the ante and created a car better than the last. Considering that in each generation in the series, the Ferraris have arguably been best-in-class, this is an extremely admirable and enviable achievement.

If you haven’t seen anything about the 458, here’s a great little intro – an official intro, as a matter of fact – from seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher.

7-speed paddle-shift F1-based transmission. 9000rpm. 500+ horsepower. All for the price of a freakin’ house. If I’m going to have a house on 4 wheels, I’d much rather have a Ferrari than an RV.

The following video is, for anyone who is a racecar fan or for the diehard tifosi, pure carporn:

Michael Schumacher has been a phenomenal addition to the Ferrari family, not only on the racetrack, but also for his contributions to the development of Ferrari’s road-going thoroughbreds. The 458 is, unfortunately, the last Ferrari with which Schumacher will have lent his influence. It is the end of one era in the Ferrari saga, but this venerable and formidable marque will certainly continue to produce more gems.

But, for the moment, the 458 is Ferrari’s production model. There will be plenty of time in the future to be nostalgic about eras past. For now, the real question for those of us who wish we owned one of these 4-wheeled gems is “what’s the car like on the road?”

Someone wrote that Ferraris aren’t necessarily the most powerful cars on the road, nor are they necessarily the fastest, but they have soul and are fun to drive.

I certainly “buy into” the Ferrari mystique, as it were. Not having owned and driven a Ferrari or other comparable sportscar to compare against, I can’t say whether that’s true or not. Maybe it’s just something we Ferrari fans tell ourselves to make ourselves feel better. True or not, though, a sportscar this expensive, owned for pleasure and not for pure competition, will never be put to its paces at the very edge of its performance envelope. The pleasure of owning the car is all about the emotion and the experience sitting in the driver’s seat.

Just to finish off nicely, here’s a video clip of the Ferrari 430 accelerating. However impressive this is, the 458 performs even better. That gets my heart racing and puts a smile on my face!

Okay, I can’t help it, here’s some F430 carporn to really finish you off – and hold you over until I find some more cool videos of the 458 itself