Ferrari 458 Italia Grand Am hits Fiorano

Ferrari 458 Italia Grand Am

It takes a bit of a leap of imagination to think of Ferrari competing in a more basic form of Motor Sport. But it is.

No, Maranello hasn’t decided to go stock car racing, but it has decided it needs to enter the Ferrari 458 Italia in to the North American Grand Am Series.

The Grand Am series rules and regulations demand a more functional car than European Race Series; less driver aids, more driver input. So the 458 Italia Grand Am gets detuned to 500bhp, in part by limiting it to 8000 revs and fitting a 48mm restrictor.

In addition to the power limitations, the aerodynamics are less efficient than they are in the 458 GT3 and the 458 loses its ABS and traction control and gets harder compound tyres from Continental. And to make it a bit more robust – Grand Am can be a contact sport – the 458 gets a roll-over bar to help give some extra lateral protection.

The 458 Italia Grand Am has been sorted and fettled by Michelotto Automobili – Ferrari’s tuner of choice for the track – and has been blatted round the Fiorano track for 45 laps by Ferrari drivers  hands of Maurizio Mediani and Jaime Melo.

So it looks like Ferrari are ready to rock and roll in Grand Am with a Ferrari 458 which is probably slower than the average road-going 458.

But that’s Grand Am.

(4 photos – click any thumbnail for full size gallery)

By Cars UK