The Ferrari 458 Speciale and Speciale A Sports Car

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The Ferrari 458 Speciale

THE CAR

The Ferrari 458 Speciale sports car was launched in 2013 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, with a price tag of £298,000, and was based on the 458 Italia.

Externally, the most distinctive feature was the blue and white stripes along the centre of the car.

Additions that improved aerodynamics included:

A bonnet that contained reverse vents that helped reduce drag
Sills that were fitted with fins
A rear spoiler, with a modified shape, positioned higher up and with increased surface area, produced additional downforce
Restyled composite bumpers containing ducts that slowed the air and increased the ground effect

Another interesting feature involved moveable flaps at both front and rear. At slow speeds, the flaps were closed and directed cooling air onto the radiators.

However, as speed increased, the flaps opened and reduced drag by restricting the airflow to the radiators. In this way, there was an increase in downforce at the rear of the car.

Below the rear grille, the exhaust consisted of two pipes instead of the trio on the other variant, whilst a large rear diffuser further increased downforce.

An intriguing addition to the electronic control systems was referred to as Side Slip Angle Control, or SCC, which involved analysing the angle between a wheel's actual direction and that towards which it was pointing, and referring the readings to targeted values.

The result was that, by way of F1-Trac, the level of traction control in respect of prevailing road conditions could be mananged, whilst E-Diff, the electronic limited slip differential, would monitor the torque applied to each wheel.

The 458 Speciale sports car had a dry weight of 1290 kg, some 90 kg less than that of the 458 Italia, and with specific weight-saving measures, the engine itself was 7 kg lighter.

It used the latest Brembo disc brakes with improved pads, which increased heat dispersal and helped produce shorter stopping distances, such as 62 mph to zero in only 31 metres.

It was fitted with newly designed 20 inch forged road wheels which reduced overall weight by a further 10 kg.

THE ENGINE

The 458 Speciale sports car was powered by the same 4.5 litre, V8 engine as in the 458 Italia, but output was increased to 597 bhp at 9000 rpm (the redline), and 398 ft/lbs of torque at 6000 rpm.

Fitted with a 7 speed Getrag gearbox, it produced a top speed of 202 mph, and a 0-60 mph time of 3.0 secs, with 0-125 mph in 9.1 secs.

The engine was the most powerful non-turbo unit produced to date, and used a massive 14:1 compression ratio which was produced by altering the geometry of the pistons, and using lightweight components.

The F1-style paddle shift gearbox, with dual clutch, was now fitted with new software, which resulted in the time taken for the engine revs to match the appropriate gear to be substantially reduced.

Technical Data 458 Speciale 458 Italia          F430
Production                          2013+          2009+ 2004-2009
Engine, cc 4499 4499              4308
Cylinders, bhp 8, 597 8, 570 8, 483
Torque ft/lbs 398 398 344
Top Speed mph                   202 202 196
0-60 mph, secs 2.8 3.3 3.9
0-100 mph, secs 6.1 6.9 8.3
Standing 1/4 Mile, secs                     10.7 11.9 11.9

Ferrari 458 Speciale

Ferrari 458 Speciale Image

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COMPETITION

Typical competition for the Ferrari 458 Speciale included the following sports cars: Audi R8 GT, and Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4. Ferrari performance:

Audi Lamborghini
Technical Data 458 Speciale R8GT Gallardo LP560-4
Production 2013+ 2011+ 208+
Engine, cc 4499 5205 5221
Cylinders, bhp 8, 597 10, 551 10, 550
Torque ft/lbs 398 400 395
Top Speed mph 202 201 201
0-60 mph, secs 2.8 3.2 3.6
0-100 mph, secs 6.1 7.4 6.9
Standing 1/4 Mile, secs 10.7 11.0 11.2

The Ferrari 458 Speciale A

THE CAR

In 2014, a year after the introduction of the 458 Speciale coupe, the convertible variant was launched, and designated the 458 Speciale A sports car, where the letter "A" referred to the term Aperta, which was the Italian for Open.

It was built as a limited edition of just 499 units, and with the same engine and gearbox, produced the same 0-60 mph time of 2.8 secs, but the top speed was reduced from 202 to 199 mph.

It weighed just 50 kg more then the coupe variant, and used the same automatically operated aluminium hardtop, as used in the 458 Italia Spider sports car, which stored itself away in front of the engine bay in just 14 seconds.

Technical Data 458 Speciale A 458 Italia Spider F430 Spider
Production 2015+ 2011+ 2005-2009
Engine, cc 4499 4499 4309
Cylinders, bhp 8, 597 8, 570 8, 483
Torque ft/lbs 398 398 344
Top Speed mph 199 199 193
0-60 mph, secs 2.8 3.3 4.1
0-100 mph, secs 6.1 6.9 9.3
Standing 1/4 Mile, secs 10.7 11.2 12.5

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COMPETITION

Typical competition for the Ferrari 458 Speciale A included the following sports cars: Audi R8 V10 Spider, and Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4 convertible. Ferrari performance:

Audi R8 Lamborghini
Technical Data 458 Speciale A GT Spider LP610-4 Huracan
Production 2015 2011+ 2015
Engine, cc 4499 5204 6483
Cylinders, bhp 8, 597 10, 552 10, 610
Torque ft/lbs 398 398 413
Top Speed mph 199 197 202
0-60 mph, secs 2.8 3.7 3.0
0-100 mph, secs 6.1 7.9 -
Standing 1/4 Mile, secs 10.7 11.5 -

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