The 458 Italia is powered by a 4.5 L (270 cu in) V8 engine derived from a shared Ferrari/Maserati design, producing 562 hp (419 kW; 570 PS) at 9,000 rpm (redline) and 398 lb·ft (540 N·m) at 6,000 rpm[5] with 80% torque available at 3,250 rpm. Due to the aerodynamics pushing more air into the engine at high speeds, the engine develops 570 HP at top speed. The engine features direct fuel injection, which is a first for Ferrari mid-rear engine setups in its road cars.
Transmission The standard transmission is a Getrag dual-clutch 7-speed transmission, similar to the Ferrari California. There is no traditional manual option, making this the fourth road-car after the Enzo, Challenge Stradale and 430 Scuderia not to be offered with Ferrari's classic gated manual. It is the first mainstream model to not be offered with a manual transmission.
The car's suspension features double wishbones at the front and a multi-link set-up at the rear, coupled with E-Diff and F1-Trac traction control systems, 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 minimise delay in the brakes being applied. This combined with the ABS has reduced 100–0 km/h (62-0 mph) braking distance to 32.5 metres (107 ft). The adaptive magnetorheological dampers were co-developed with Delphi.Performance
Ferrari's official 0-100 km/h (62 mph) acceleration is under 3.4 seconds, while top speed is over 325 km/h (202 mph), with a fuel consumption in combined cycle (ECE+EUDC) 13.7 L/100 km (20.6 mpg-imp; 17.2 mpg-US) while producing 320g/km of CO2.
Price
Since car values vary and Ferrari does not publish prices of its cars on its website, it is hard to tell what the value of the Ferrari 458 Italia is currently. As of February 2010, the Ferrari 458 Italia was selling for around £25,000 over its £169,545 UK list price.
Design
The body was designed by Pininfarina, as with all recent Ferrari models. The car’s exterior styling and features were designed for aerodynamic efficiency, producing a downforce of 140 kg at 124 miles per hour (200 km/h). 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, including a new steering wheel design which incorporates many features and controls as opposed to their being on the dashboard, similar to racing car designs.According to British car magazine Autocar, the 458 Italia's design has drawn inspiration from the Enzo Ferrari and its Millechili concept car. It has been designed to be Ferrari's sportiest V8-engined car, to distinguish itself from the recently launched Ferrari California.
The 458 was also reviewed on 15th season of Top Gear, where it received acclaim for its styling and performance. In a drag race against a Ferrari F430, it won by a considerable margin. The car also lapped the Top Gear test track in 1:19.1, just 0.1 seconds slower than the Enzo Ferrari.
