Ferrari 458 Italia
World debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show for the Ferrari 458 Italia, a new generation rear-engined berlinetta.
The new Ferrari 458 Italia marks a generation leap for 8-cylinder mid-rear engined cars with a strong racing temperament from the Maranello Company. The new car is a synthesis of technological innovation, creativeness, style and passion, one that is also representative of Italy, a fact that Ferrari pays tribute to with its decision to add Italia to the car’s name after the traditional reference to its capacity and number of cylinders.
The Ferrari 458 Italia is a two-seater Berlinetta that is completely new in every way: the power pack, design, aerodynamics, handling, instrumentation and man-machine interface, to name just a few. The design, created by Pininfarina, hinges on a compact, streamlined shape, which expresses the concepts of essentiality, efficiency and lightness that inspired the project. Like all Ferraris, the styling is closely linked to aerodynamic efficiency, which also generates a vertical load of 140 kg at 200 km/h on this car. The front end has a single vent, with lateral air intakes, and the profile sections designed to direct the air towards the engine radiators and the new flat bottom. The 458 Italia also has small fins positioned in front of the radiators, which generate vertical load and deform aero-elastically as the speed increases to reduce the radiator intake section and thus drag.
“The 458 Italia marks a new milestone in the historical collaboration between Ferrari and Pininfarina,” commented Paolo Pininfarina, Chairman of the Group. “The stylistic definition of the model, coordinated by the Ferrari Styling Department team, examined every detail of even the smallest part, focusing on a number of key concepts: simplicity, essentiality, technology, total aerodynamics, efficiency and lightness. The result is a car that has extremely innovative styling but yet retains the main Ferrari characteristics, like the visible engine typical of sportier 8-cylinder models.”
“The design of an 8-cylinder berlinetta, a model that has always embodied all Ferrari’s intrinsic values with extraordinary sportiness and elegance, demanded an unusual approach, that took into consideration the sweeping changes taking place around the world,” added Lowie Vermeersch, Pininfarina Design Director. “The stylistic research thus evolved through a new ethical conscience on the part of the designer and new design drivers, such as lower consumption and reduced emissions. In architectural terms, this philosophy has translated into lower weights and a smaller front section, which brought benefits in terms of aerodynamics. Where styling is concerned, a great deal of work was done on the optical perception of a compact but streamlined mass obtained by “streamlining” the volumes and the tension applied to the surfaces.”
