Doesn’t matter how
good you think it is,
the 458 Speciale is
better – so wickedly
fast, yet unbelievably
easy to drivenot messing about. So it’s worth pausing
to appreciate the Speciale’s 445kW from
4.5 litres, without a blower or turbo in sight.
A 14:1 compression ratio and 9000rpm
redline sure helps. Over the 458 the
Speciale scores more aggro cams, revised
pistons and conrods, optimised crank
geometry and a new, carbonfibre intake
system (which alone helps shave 8kg).
Of course, Ferrari’s engineers didn’t
knock off when they’d finished with the
Speciale’s engine.
The Speciale is so easy and friendly
to drive fast – and lord is it fast. When
driven hard, other performance cars can
take an eternity to reveal their frequency,
into which, as a driver, you tune, all the
while your confidence withers. Others,
at eight tenths, fall apart around their
dynamic edges. But it’s at this point the
Speciale is only getting started.
You don’t sit in the Speciale so much as
splice your brain into its wiring loom –
there’s so much feedback coming to you,
through the seat, the wheel, the pedals.
A super-fast steering rack, which
initially takes some getting used to,
means you never have to move your
hands from nine and three. Despite
feeling hyper alert, the Speciale is
unbothered by aggressive steering inputs,
sitting flat and unfussed. The feel is only
just sufficient to notice a loaded-up,
front 245-section Michelin grinding over
bitumen, but the weighting is spot on.
The brake pedal is almighty, clamping
six-pot front and rear calipers into
398mm front carbon discs, 360mm rear.
The pedal feels sensitive to the tiniest of
pressure differences. And, of course, with
unbelievable stopping power, a big stop
in the Speciale is hugely satisfying and
not at all frightening, such is its stability.
At high speed, big bumps merely rock
the Speciale gently from side to side,
while smaller, high-tempo bumps are
worked impressively. The suspension
performance is incredible.
In fact, the Speciale can produce 1.33
cornering g. The Enzo could manage
1.1g, which makes sense, given the
Speciale is an incredible 1.4 seconds
faster than an Enzo around Fiorano.
The seven-speed dual clutch
transmission, too, is crisp, alert and alive.
Down changes are swift, accompanied by
an angry, loud, crisp throttle blip.
After a big stop, you can tip the
Speciale in with only small steering input,
given that crazy-fast rack – you’re free to
attack apex with incredible entry speed
thanks to those sticky Michelins. Stability
on corner entry is excellent.
On corner exit the Speciale wants to
dance. There’s incredible traction from
the rear 305s but squeeze the gas a little
harder and the Speciale’s bum will gently
step, rather than snap, sideways, inviting
more throttle, and more angle. It’ll have
you cackling like a kid on red cordial.
Thanks to a hyper alert, sensitive
throttle (still foreign to turbo cars)
there’s a friendly, predictable relationship
between throttle input and slide angle.
At least, so it seems: if you’ve got the
manettino in “CT OFF” the Speciale is
helping make you look like a hero.
Welcome to something called Slide
Slip Control, an ECU program that
senses available grip, quietly takes over
the throttle and locks and unlocks the
diff to maintain a slide based on your
steering input. You will feel like a drifting
god but, sadly, it’s the car. It might be
cheating but a grin is a grin.
It’s just one of the ways the Speciale
flatters you. It has huge grip yet it’ll
encourage you up to the limits, where the
grip falls off a slope, not a cliff, doing
good things for your bravado. But, as
ever, the seamless electronics are there to
catch you if you that corner tightens.
Unfortunately, though it sounds it, the
Speciale isn’t perfect. For some, the
exhaust is just a blare of noise rather than
music. On our good ol’ Aussie coarse
chip bitumen, there’s road noise like
you’re in a jumbo at cruising altitude. The
ride can let in a few too many bumps.
And you might finally go nuts if you had
to drive it long distance.
They’re fair criticisms to level against
a $550,000 car. But then again, after
30 minutes in the Speciale, you won’t
notice, nor care. The Speciale is as close
to driving perfection I’ve ever come and
will surely be remembered as one of
Maranello’s greatest road cars. – DC