Ferrari 458 Italia unveiled at Frankfurt

We still don't think the 458 Italia looks as good as an old 288 GTO or F355, but in terms of performance and driving dynamics, the Italia should be in a class of its own

While Ferrari had released details and official pictures of the new 458 Italia back in July this year, the car made its world debut at the ongoing Frankfurt Motor Show. The 458 Italia is fitted with a 4.5-litre, 570 horsepower V8, mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox.

The Pininfarina-designed 458 Italia, which weighs just 1,380 kilos dry, goes from zero to 100km/h in under 3.4 seconds and hits a top speed of over 325km/h. Among other top drivers involved in the development of this car is one very special name – multi-time F1 world champ Michael Schumacher.

The Ferrari press release for the 458 often reads like a physics textbook for engineering students and we won’t bother with the technical mumbo-jumbo here, but yes, the car is loaded with every little bit of high-performance automotive electro-trickery that currently exists. And though we aren’t huge fans of the way it looks (the F355 is still our favourite!), we do suspect the 458 Italia will be one of the best driver-centric supercars when it’s finally launched next year.

Pricing and availability details to be announced soon.