458 italia

Eric Clapton Wants a Ferrari 458 Italia with a V12

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Celebrity Shopping

The sky's the limit when cost is no object. Case in point: celebrated blues guitarist and recording legend Eric Clapton, who has reportedly placed a very special order from Ferrari.

Clapton's a known Ferrari aficionado, and upon visiting the factory recently in Maranello, apparently fell in love with the new 458 Italia. Just one thing: instead of the V8 engineered for the car, he wants one with the V12 from the larger 599 GTB Fiorano – the same engine, more or less, that was in the Enzo, we might add.

Ferrari has, according to reports, agreed to build the special supercar according to Clapton's specifications. The question on our minds is whether the car will end up sounding better than its owner.

Tags: 458, 458 italia, clapton, eric clapton, ferrari, ferrari 458 italia

Ferrari 458 Italia priced at £169,545

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Want to know how much that new Ferrari 458 Italia will set you back? If we were buying, we probably wouldn't want to know, but British pricing has just been announced in the first official indication of what buyers can expect to shell out.

The list price, including all taxes, for the 458 in the UK comes out to £169,545. That's a significant £40k increase over the F430 it replaces, but a few grand less than the top-of-the-line 430 Scuderia whose performance it more closely resembles. (The pricing also puts the 458 into perspective vis-a-vis its kid brother, the California convertible, which comes out to £143,325 on the 2010 price sheet.) Of course these are just starting points for eager buyers, with options like LED indicator lights on the steering wheel, Alcantara microsuede trim for the trunk, electric seats and a spare wheel all delving well into four figures. Nobody ever said buying a new Ferrari would be cheap.

Gallery: Ferrari 458 Italia

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Tags: 458, 458 italia, 458Italia, ferrari, ferrari 458 italia, Ferrari458Italia

2009 Frankfurt Auto Show: Ferrari 458 Italia

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Any day with a new Ferrari is bound to be a good day. So even amidst all the new vehicle launches and concept car debuts which we've been bringing you from Frankfurt, the new Ferrari 458 Italia stands out.

A complete redesign of Maranello's mid-engine V8 supercar, the 458 incorporates the latest technologies gleaned from the F1 circuit: components like flexible aerodynamic elements, a "virtual race engineer" system, a multi-function steering wheel localizing all the controls, and an all-new 4.5-liter V8 engine that revs all the way up to 9000 rpm. 562 horsepower and 398 lb-ft of torque hustle it up to sixty in 3.4 seconds and to a 202 mph top speed. We checked out the pair of Italias which Ferrari displayed at the Frankfurt Messe, and so can you in the gallery below.

Gallery: Frankfurt 2009: Ferrari 458 Italia

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Presenting The New Ferrari 458 Italia in all its Glory

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Say hello to the new Ferrari 458 Italia. It's the first all-new mid-engined production Ferrari in a decade, replacing the F430 which itself was based on the 360 Modena. It's set to debut at the Frankfurt auto show in a couple of weeks, but Ferrari's already given us a good look at the good-lookin' supercar with a whole gallery full of photos, which you can peruse at your leisure below.

The 458 Italia represents a significant step forward from the already blindingly fast F430, adopting the latest lessons gleaned from Ferrari's campaigning in the Formula One world championship. Under its curvaceous bodywork lies an all-aluminum chassis, powered by a new 4.5-liter V8 with direct injection, producing 562 horsepower and 398 lb-ft of torque, revving all the way up to 9000 rpm and driving the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. That's enough power to reportedly accelerate from 0-60 in under 3.4 seconds en route to a top speed of 202 mph. Inside the all-new interior features controls centralized on the steering wheel, from which the driver can control everything, and a warning system that alerts the driver when his ride is ready to roll.

Gallery: Ferrari 458 Italia

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Tags: 458, 458 italia, 458Italia, ferrari, ferrari 458 italia, ferrari italia, Ferrari458Italia, FerrariItalia

Betting On The Next Ferrari Model's First Crash

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Exotic car crashes always attract attention. Just a few weeks ago, Autoblog managed to witness the crash of a $8 Million Ferrari 250 TR. But is predicting the first crash of a new Ferrari model humorous or ghoulish? Wrecked Exotics, which traffics in images of beautiful cars meeting an untimely end, is sponsoring a contest that has entrants guessing the date of the first crash of Ferrari's new 458 Italia. The 458 Italia is set to be unveiled at the Frankfurt auto show later this month. The winner earns $500. The contest rules also state if the first Ferrari F458 crash results in any fatality or serious injury the contest will be null and void and prize will be donated to a road safety charity. Prototype or test vehicle crashes are eligible but a F458 being driven by a professional race car driver during an official race is not.

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Tags: 458 italia, 458Italia, crash, ferrari, wrecked exotics, WreckedExotics