Get ready for some car porn in form of the new Ferrari 458 Italia in its Challenge gear.
What's that mean?
Get prepared for a 458 that has been doing some serious workouts while using Jenny Craig. Essentially, the Maranello-based firm has decided that by using thinner door skins, more Lexan and carbon fiber, it could create a more respectable track variant.
Oh yeah, and if you're lost by the whole Challenge thing; basically it is a vehicle raced by Tifosi that compete in the Ferrari Trofeo Pirelli. If that still does not make sense, let me dumb it down for you. It's a car that is privately raced. Ferrari has built these special racers in form of 348s, 355s, 360s and 430s before and will continue to host the series as long as buyers want it.
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Ferrari’s 458 Italia Challenge racer has taken to the track for the first time at Vallelunga.
Ferrari test drivers Maurizio Mediani and Jaime Melo each drove the car at the Roman circuit and both were predictably pleased with the V8 racer.
Mediani said the Challenge was “very quick and extremely good fun” while Melo said he was “sure that Prancing Horse competition owners will be very pleased with this car”.
The 458 Challenge has the same direct-injection, 4.5-litre V8 powerplant as the regular car, producing 562bhp at 9000rpm. The gains for track use come through revised gear ratios and recalibration of the 458's F1 gearbox, plus a major push to save weight...
[Source: Autocar]
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