FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW: Ferrari 458 Speciale

Ferrari has produced the most extreme version of its 458 Italia super-coupe yet seen, just as Porsche launches its most fearsome 911 ever.

Porsche has just commenced the global launch of its fire-breathing new 911 Turbo and Turbo S (watch this space for our first drive), which can sprint to 100km/h in a staggering 3.1 seconds.

Due on sale in Australia by the end of this year, Porsche’s new 911 flagships are expected to be priced similarly to their 997-series predecessors – the $396,900 Turbo coupe and $423,300 Turbo S coupe last sold here in June 2012.

Ferrari claims the new 458 Speciale, revealed here ahead of its world public debut at the Frankfurt motor show next month, can hit 100km/h in three seconds flat, undercutting the 911 Turbo S by a tenth and the ‘mainstream’ 458 by 0.4 seconds.

However, Italy’s prancing horse brand is yet to confirm how many will be produced and whether any examples will make it to Australia.

If they do, expect a handsome price premium over the standard 458 Italia coupe ($525,417), given the yawning $140K gap between the standard F430 coupe ($434,150) and the limited-edition F430 Scuderia special ($573,700) when they were last sold here in 2010.

Billed as a “completely new, uncompromising, streamlined sports car concept”, Ferrari says the 458 Speciale debuts several technical innovations that are set to feature on all future Ferrari models and make it the most aerodynamic and hardest-cornering series-production Ferrari ever.

Presumably, this does not include limited-edition models like the Enzo and LaFerrari.

Designed by the Ferrari Styling Centre and Pininfarina, the 458 Speciale’s aerodynamics are claimed to be more performance-orientated ever, featuring adjustable front and rear flaps that automatically balance downforce and cut drag.

But the centrepiece of all Ferraris is the engine – in this case an uprated version of the 458’s 425kW/540Nm 4.5-litre V8, which delivers the same torque at 6000rpm but 25kW more peak power (now 450kW or around 600hp) at 9000rpm.

That gives the 458 Special the highest specific power output of any a road-going naturally aspirated engine (100kW/litre), says Ferrari, as well as a weight/power ratio of just 2.13kg/hp, thanks to a dry weight pared back to just 1290kg – down from 1525kg kerb.

The result is said to be 0-200km/h acceleration in just 9.1 seconds and a lap time at Ferrari’s Fiorano test track of just 1:23.5 – a whole 1.5 seconds faster than the standard 458 and just half a second slower than a Ferrari F12.

In case anyone cares, the 458 Special emits a claimed 275g/km of CO2 when its HELE idle-stop system is employed.

Ferrari says the technologies incorporated into the car’s dynamics subsystems give the driver “instant confidence and control at high speeds, natural power oversteer management and precise response to commands”.

Chief among them is Side Slip angle Control (SSC), which aims to improve on-the-limit handling control.

“Thanks to the development of an accurate new algorithm, SSC performs instant-to-instant analysis of the car’s side slip, comparing it with the target value and then optimising both torque management (via integration with F1-Trac traction control) and torque distribution between the two wheels (via integration with the E-Diff electronic differential),” says Ferrari.

Combined with super-sticky new Michelin Pilot Sport Cup2 tyres developed especially for the Speciale, the hottest factory 458 is claimed to be capable of the highest lateral g-force acceleration of any Ferrari model (1.33g).

“The abovementioned technical content has improved the 458 Speciale’s single lap time and also delivers repeatability of that performance on subsequent laps that is absolutely unprecedented for a car not designed exclusively for track use,” said the Maranello car-maker.

“The Speciale is designed to boost performance and driving emotion to unprecedented levels, yet simultaneously guarantee smooth, effortless control in all kinds of situations.”

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