Wednesday, August 5, 2009

RPMGO.com (former Auto Unleashed)

Posted by rin at 5:20 AM

RPMGO.com (former Auto Unleashed)

Ferrari 458 Italia to make Frankfurt debut

Posted: 05 Aug 2009 05:05 AM PDT

Last week, the Italian car maker announced the F430 successor, the Ferrari 458 Italia, which is scheduled to make its world debut next month, at the Frankfurt Motor Show. According to Ferrari, the 458 is a completely new car from every point of view: engine, design, aerodynamics, handling and ergonomics. And our first impression was “WOW!”, because it’s just breathtaking.

The exterior styling is the work of famous Italian studio Pininfarina and it features a front part “with a single opening for the front grille and side air intakes, with aerodynamic sections and profiles designed to direct air to the coolant radiators and the new flat underbody. The nose also sports small aeroelastic winglets which generate downforce and, as speed rises, deform to reduce the section of the radiator inlets and cut drag.”

Under the hood, the 458 Italian is powered by a new 4.5-liter V8 (the first mid-rear mounted direct injection Ferrari engine) which delivers 570 hp at 9000 rpm and a max torque of 540 Nm at 6000 rpm, over 80 per cent of which is available from 3250 rpm. Mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, the engine ‘drinks’ only 13.7 liters/100 km (17.2 US mpg) and produces only 320 g/km of CO2 emissions. And that’s really impressive, considering the car sprints from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in under 3.4 seconds and reaches a top speed of 325 km/h (202 mph).

And there’s a lot more than that and you can read all about the new Ferrari 458 Italia in the official press release.

Photo Gallery: Ferrari 458 Italia