Ferrari 458 Italia (2010) – the official videos

By Tim Pollard

First Official Pictures

29 July 2009 09:58

Yesterday we brought you the first official pictures of the new Ferrari 458 Italia. Today we bring you 458 Italia video footage inside the cabin of Ferrari’s new V8 and a short clip of it being driven on track.

The new 4.5-litre V8 Italia will be launched in the UK in spring 2010 and is likely to wear a price tag somewhere between the outgoing F430 (£140k) and the Scuderia (£170k). Call it a nice round £160,000 – we can’t remember any new Ferrari in recent years costing less than its predecessor. Especially when the replacement is so much more powerful.

The new Italia is much closer to the Scuderia in performance. It’ll surpass 202mph and hit 62mph in ‘less than 3.4 seconds’, says Ferrari. Hear the direct-injection V8 wail in our short official Ferrari Italia video (courtesy of Autoblog, upgrade to latest Flash player if any problems viewing) – and those rifle-bolt gearchanges suggest that Maranello has worked further magic with its seven-speed twin-clutch gearbox as seen on the California.

A couple of extra technical factoids have emerged overnight. It’s anorak territory, but Ferrari says:

• The new E-diff integrated into the gearbox means the rear transaxle now weighs 4kg less than the Scuderia’s
• The 458 Italia’s torsional rigidity is 12% stiffer than the F430
• The downforce at 300kph (186mph) adds around a quarter of the car’s mass 315kg – 35kg more than the F430 and 5 kilos over a Scuderia’s aero pack

By Tim Pollard