It’s been a while since I did a car post on John Chow dot Com. They were always quite popular because I wrote about fancy sport cars instead of minivans. Today, I would like to introduce what I hope to be my next car, the Ferrari 458 Italia. This is Ferrari’s replacement for the out going F430.
The Ferrari 458 Italia won’t be shown to the public until the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, but the official details on the new car were released yesterday. The 458 is powered by a new direct-injected 4.5-liter V8 that pumps out 562 horsepower and 398 lb-ft of torque and the redline is a screaming 9,000 rpm! If you want to hear what that sounds like, check out the video below.
Mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission that can shift gears faster than you can blink, the 458 can blast from zero to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds and reach a top speed of 202 mph (not that you would try that on a public road, of course). What’s more, this new Ferrari gets better gas mileage (17.1 mpg on the EU test cycle) than the old one. This is assuming Ferrari owners even care about fuel economy.
The 458 Italia should hit Ferrari showrooms in 2010, which I believe is when the new Ferrari dealership on Burrard Street is scheduled for completion. As long as the Internet doesn’t crash, this new Ferrari 458 Italia is mine. Now, I just have to tell Sarah… Wish me luck.
