A return to form: Say hello to Banana MK2, the Italian Prancing Horse (Ferrari 458 Italia)
In Skye now, lovely weather today apart from
The odd crazy shower but more epic roads:
Amazing trip so far and had some incredible weather and roads are pretty quiet and nothing you can’t easily overtake on these kind of roads.
The odd crazy shower but more epic roads:
Amazing trip so far and had some incredible weather and roads are pretty quiet and nothing you can’t easily overtake on these kind of roads.
We are doing similar we’re only doing parts of coastal route and picking out some of the epic inland roads, going up and down Skye at moment, about to go visit the castle that is still lived in.
Haha the first one you can’t stay in but I am in the second smaller house/castle yes.
Can’t believe how lucky we have had weather, hit 28c today.
@Gibbo, what are the odds?! I'm sure I spotted you and your motely crew yesterday on the A9 between Tain and the Nigg roundabout. I was in a grey 640d so doubt I'd have stood out amongst all the other cars.
Next time you're doing the NC500 let me know and pop round for a cuppa, plenty of space to park up and my lad would be in his element seeing all those fine cars! Next time you'll hopefully be in a Lotus.
Good spot!
Now South of Glasgow for the night and heading back home tomorrow.
We will be back again as we love Scotland for the amazing roads and the weather held out the entire week for us.
Hi there
Considering upgrading to a Speciale if I can find an example with higher miles and just been to look at this as it’s local:
https://www.dapcars.co.uk/vehicle/ferrari-458-speciale-in-cheshire-ebf639ee-fb94-47f6-9d40-bf56df628db1
The colour scheme I personally really like, looks great in flesh and I love the yellow seats.
However I’m not sure LHD is a wise move in a car like this, ideally think I need a RHD example with high miles and ideally in red or yellow.
Still think I’ll go for a closer look tomorrow as my mate knows the guy who owns the garage so a deal might be possible.
I don’t want a low mileage car because they are 250-300k so would be a waste on me and I’d be getting hit with 50-100k depreciation as I’ll end up putting 10k plus miles on it easy whereas most of these unfortunately just don’t get driven so a 1-2k mile car is a no no for me.
Still no harm in looking.
Considering upgrading to a Speciale if I can find an example with higher miles and just been to look at this as it’s local:
https://www.dapcars.co.uk/vehicle/ferrari-458-speciale-in-cheshire-ebf639ee-fb94-47f6-9d40-bf56df628db1
The colour scheme I personally really like, looks great in flesh and I love the yellow seats.
However I’m not sure LHD is a wise move in a car like this, ideally think I need a RHD example with high miles and ideally in red or yellow.
Still think I’ll go for a closer look tomorrow as my mate knows the guy who owns the garage so a deal might be possible.
I don’t want a low mileage car because they are 250-300k so would be a waste on me and I’d be getting hit with 50-100k depreciation as I’ll end up putting 10k plus miles on it easy whereas most of these unfortunately just don’t get driven so a 1-2k mile car is a no no for me.
Still no harm in looking.
Hi there
Had a look at the white car today, it’s really nice, very nice, interior stunning and it’s got 20k worth of FI titanium exhaust on it abs factory one included too. No real signs of wear at all but the car has not been serviced yearly due to lack of use but still goes down as missed services.
Originally from Kuwait, current owner since 2017 and did say it would be serviced and warrantied by Ferrari as part of deal not sure if they’d put warranty on it though so probably sales guy speak.
The LHD hard to comment as 458’s have incredible visibility due to so much glass so did not seem an issue but only sat in it. Gonna talk some more with them numbers etc as the guy who owns must want it gone as it was 229k and now 209k so maybe chance of getting it under 200 but again too many what if about the car.
A lovely Aventador for @kindai
So took a trip to Ferrari no Speciale and they said they have quite a few names down looking for cars with miles to be driven but have added me to the list. They did however have 4 stunning Pistas in stock and this red one seemed good value at 285k as was very nicely optioned:
The silver one was also stunning and two blue ones and sales guy reckons values might dip more yet abs then no doubt move back up but they are also demand for older stuff and not so crazy about new stuff as they had a couple of SF90.
He was in full agreement though that as a road car a 458 is more fun and engaging at legal speeds compared to a 488 and F8, the newer stuff is mental quick but you need to drive it proper fast to get the fizzy feeling and even then you can’t really compete with NA cars that have some huge power bands as the 458 pulls hard from 2000rpm right upto 9000rpm whereas the newer turbo stuff is off course more like 3000-7000rpm.
I do prefer look of Pista though but Speciale felt more special to sit in even though it’s not a nice and technically same cabin but it still had a more race car feel to it whereas Pista was very plush in comparison.
Had a look at the white car today, it’s really nice, very nice, interior stunning and it’s got 20k worth of FI titanium exhaust on it abs factory one included too. No real signs of wear at all but the car has not been serviced yearly due to lack of use but still goes down as missed services.
Originally from Kuwait, current owner since 2017 and did say it would be serviced and warrantied by Ferrari as part of deal not sure if they’d put warranty on it though so probably sales guy speak.
The LHD hard to comment as 458’s have incredible visibility due to so much glass so did not seem an issue but only sat in it. Gonna talk some more with them numbers etc as the guy who owns must want it gone as it was 229k and now 209k so maybe chance of getting it under 200 but again too many what if about the car.
A lovely Aventador for @kindai
So took a trip to Ferrari no Speciale and they said they have quite a few names down looking for cars with miles to be driven but have added me to the list. They did however have 4 stunning Pistas in stock and this red one seemed good value at 285k as was very nicely optioned:
The silver one was also stunning and two blue ones and sales guy reckons values might dip more yet abs then no doubt move back up but they are also demand for older stuff and not so crazy about new stuff as they had a couple of SF90.
He was in full agreement though that as a road car a 458 is more fun and engaging at legal speeds compared to a 488 and F8, the newer stuff is mental quick but you need to drive it proper fast to get the fizzy feeling and even then you can’t really compete with NA cars that have some huge power bands as the 458 pulls hard from 2000rpm right upto 9000rpm whereas the newer turbo stuff is off course more like 3000-7000rpm.
I do prefer look of Pista though but Speciale felt more special to sit in even though it’s not a nice and technically same cabin but it still had a more race car feel to it whereas Pista was very plush in comparison.
This they were all Rollers, not sure on type but they were great looking cars and absolutely massive too. Check the stock on the website I posted link further up and that will answer questions on model.
Yep looking at 280-300k for a perfect spec car but they are super low miles. So only got to look at the high mileage cars which are none existent but in short would be around 200-230k depending on amount of miles, so a 50-80k loss, unless the Speciale does an F40 type appreciation and goes bonkers over next five years, that could happen considering 458 values are now already beginning to eclipse 488 values.
It was shocking to visit Ferrari at weekend and they had 4 Pista's, even more a shock that a re-sale red model was only 285k, was not long ago they were 350k so the Pista values are softening and though an awesome car I suspect I would not love it. The 458 Italia has really spoiled me, its a freaking awesome car to drive, handles like an E46 M3, sounds like an old F1 car and just feels absurdly special and even fast at legal speeds.
I think the only real alternative is a Performante, I do need to revisit I think, driving a Huracan hard on the road put me off, not because of understeer but simply because the car was numb and you had to drive at such high speeds to feel involvement and fun factor, not really practical this day and age.
Most the Special edition of Ferrari's are purchased to look at, not to drive, a real shame which does mean its difficult trying to find one, I've put my name down with a few dealers and specialist now to see if they can find me one.
You are probably correct, it was never an issue in my Mustang but I was 26 and had no fear, I've calmed down a little now so suspect LHD could be an issue, RHD is always king.
I think the above car though nice has issues, it could only really become a potential candidate if they would say take 180k, as 50k to get into a Speciale LHD or not and any colour would be a bargain, but that car aint gonna get down to 180k.
The problem is, I love the looks of many cars, looks alone a GT3 RS would probably be kind for me or maybe a 488 Pista. But in the GT3 its a gearing issue, 85mph in 2nd, 115mph in 3rd in a car you need to rev out to enjoy it, as such driving it down a b-road in a 50-80mph region means you could never leave 2nd, or be in 3rd but then not on it and this is the issue and makes sense why owners have put me off, on a race track where you can hold it out to the limiter in all the gears and hit 130-150mph lap after lap, awesome but doing that on road will not do me any favours. Though the Pista has short gearing its very much turbo charged, 3000-7500rpm range really and just not got the fizz but absolutely bonkers mentally fast so probably just end up in same situation again.
The 458 comes head and shoulder above the competition because the engine though in its power delivery and sound is very monotone, it is a power delivery and sound that is so addictive, at 2000rpm it pulls and it sounds awesome, there is no need to rev it to 9000rpm, you can go to 7 if you wish but at same time you can, but the gearing absolutely makes the car feel alive as 2nd is around 65, 3rd around 85-90, 4th is just over 100 and as so you can rev it out or you can change up and down the box. Then the chassis is just incredible just the right amount of grip and slip to make the drive engaging and fun even at legal speeds, also a lot of fun in the wet also because of how they progressively move around. It gets a lot of attention, but all positive so ok.
The Performante I feel is only contender and though it will be faster for sure, its a grip monster and I know its vastly better than a Huracan, but I still suspect its a car that needs to be pedalled very fast on a public road to feel epic, but unlike newer Ferrari stuff and other brands the Performante does have all the theatre with that engine.
I do love those but I think of them as a car to go along side a 458 not as a replacement because how epic they are they are more a GT than a raw sports car, but easily the best car Ferrari make right now.
Dream car mate, a lot of cash at 350k but I can see them been the new F50 in 10-20 years, such a desirable car with the best V12 on the planet.
If you have not driven an 812, go drive one they are freaking incredible, short gearing, RWD and 800+ horsepower they are a lot of fun but quite approachable unlike the F12's that went before them.
Hi there
So been a Ferrari owner continues to pay dividends with Ferrari hospitality been the best I have ever experienced.
They invited us to their Ferrari Racing days weekend at Silverstone, which Dick Lovett were covering the bill for and also included track time on the full GP circuit, of course I said yes.
We decided to go for just the Friday, as I had arranged to drop the car of the following day (Saturday) with Dick Lovett's bodyshop as unfortunately one of my rear arches has shown a very typical 458 fault, oxidisation so the paint was beginning to bubble around the arch, I decided to travel to this body shop for the obvious reason they are highly rated but have worked on several 458 triple layer paint cars and of course fixed several arches as it is quite a common flaw on the 458.
To make life more relaxed we drove down to Silverstone the night before and stayed in Horwood Hall hotel, I can highly recommend by the way, very nice and an outstanding breakfast.
Upon arriving at hotel we discovered it was clearly the choice of stay for several Ferrari owners, so of course we parked up in the same area, some photos:
Of course the photos are from the following morning as when we arrived it was dark and those photos are a bit grainy.
We then made our way to the circuit to sign on for the day and to get some food:
Upon signing on we then went and parked in the "owner drivers" section where Ferrari mechanics were performing safety checks on everyone cars, wheel torque, tyre pressures, tyre tread and visual inspections of brakes, glass and fitting toe eyes etc.:
Absolutely great service, my car got a clean bill of health and all OK to drive on circuit, we got two 35-40 minute sessions on track between the 488 Challenge practice sessions and also the FXX Clienti driving sessions and of course the god like 2007/2008 F1 car driving sessions.
Food and drink was fantastic, the simulator was good fun and we did a full walk of the circuit and the sound of the FXX V12 cars was insane, the 488 challenge cars unfortunately tend too just make was sounds like a whistle/whoosh noise and of course the owner cars, namely the 458 and V12 powered cars sound amazing, then the F1 cars, godlike but also ear piercing loud.
Walking around the displays here are some of the cars I grabbed photos off, the first one is a 1of2 pre-production car that seems never went into production, then of course the black car is the ugly pre-production LAF:
Now anyone who is a fan of Schumacher here is his 2002 car (reproduction - no engine) but it felt great to see this car in the flesh:
Post continued in reply post...............
So been a Ferrari owner continues to pay dividends with Ferrari hospitality been the best I have ever experienced.
They invited us to their Ferrari Racing days weekend at Silverstone, which Dick Lovett were covering the bill for and also included track time on the full GP circuit, of course I said yes.
We decided to go for just the Friday, as I had arranged to drop the car of the following day (Saturday) with Dick Lovett's bodyshop as unfortunately one of my rear arches has shown a very typical 458 fault, oxidisation so the paint was beginning to bubble around the arch, I decided to travel to this body shop for the obvious reason they are highly rated but have worked on several 458 triple layer paint cars and of course fixed several arches as it is quite a common flaw on the 458.
To make life more relaxed we drove down to Silverstone the night before and stayed in Horwood Hall hotel, I can highly recommend by the way, very nice and an outstanding breakfast.
Upon arriving at hotel we discovered it was clearly the choice of stay for several Ferrari owners, so of course we parked up in the same area, some photos:
Of course the photos are from the following morning as when we arrived it was dark and those photos are a bit grainy.
We then made our way to the circuit to sign on for the day and to get some food:
Upon signing on we then went and parked in the "owner drivers" section where Ferrari mechanics were performing safety checks on everyone cars, wheel torque, tyre pressures, tyre tread and visual inspections of brakes, glass and fitting toe eyes etc.:
Absolutely great service, my car got a clean bill of health and all OK to drive on circuit, we got two 35-40 minute sessions on track between the 488 Challenge practice sessions and also the FXX Clienti driving sessions and of course the god like 2007/2008 F1 car driving sessions.
Food and drink was fantastic, the simulator was good fun and we did a full walk of the circuit and the sound of the FXX V12 cars was insane, the 488 challenge cars unfortunately tend too just make was sounds like a whistle/whoosh noise and of course the owner cars, namely the 458 and V12 powered cars sound amazing, then the F1 cars, godlike but also ear piercing loud.
Walking around the displays here are some of the cars I grabbed photos off, the first one is a 1of2 pre-production car that seems never went into production, then of course the black car is the ugly pre-production LAF:
Now anyone who is a fan of Schumacher here is his 2002 car (reproduction - no engine) but it felt great to see this car in the flesh:
Post continued in reply post...............
Continued..
We were then taken for a tour of the garages to see the 488 Challenge cars which were practicing on the Friday, qualifying Saturday and racing on Sunday. Due to visiting friends and family we skipped the Saturday and Sunday, which seems a wise choice as the weekend was a lot busier.
Pictures from some very nice cars in the garages including some F1 cars which were also driving on circuit, unfortunately one did crash but the driver was OK.
These cars were absolutely incredible to see and to watch the mechanics working on them.
Post continued in reply......
We were then taken for a tour of the garages to see the 488 Challenge cars which were practicing on the Friday, qualifying Saturday and racing on Sunday. Due to visiting friends and family we skipped the Saturday and Sunday, which seems a wise choice as the weekend was a lot busier.
Pictures from some very nice cars in the garages including some F1 cars which were also driving on circuit, unfortunately one did crash but the driver was OK.
These cars were absolutely incredible to see and to watch the mechanics working on them.
Post continued in reply......
So I've written about how amazing the event and hospitality was, but not my time on track, unfortunately I have very little video or photos on track as no passengers allowed and as it was full GP circuit I was not particular fast as I have never driven the full GP layout, but here I am waiting to go out, not a bad traffic jam to sit in if you ask me:
So how was the 458 on track?
In short mental, my first lap was spent warming up but as its a 3+ mile circuit I soon got upto speed and unfortunately I cannot name the corners but I turned into a corner which all of a sudden tighten up and lets just say my bottom also twitched as I was turning in slow and gentle whilst trying to very gently press the brake as I fully expected to run wide but the resulting action was a car with such an incredible front end with such incredible turning force that the g-force on my body was almost painful, the car just turned in, at the apex the backend went a little light and it let go but between my own corrective lock and the computer the slide was progressive and quite tidy. I can see why people like Silverstone, the corners are very fast, though many are unsighted and I was struggling with this somewhat backing off when I could have stayed flat. As the session progressed I got brave enough and I kept my foot flat using the whole circuit and wow, just simply wow the car was planted and when it was at the limits it was nothing but beautifully progressive.
In fact on track the steering comes alive with feel, the whole car is absolutely full of feel and the car feels like a proper lightweight race car, you really start to feel the pedigree in the car, the engine has power absolutely everywhere and so many of the corners are beyond 100mph, on the longer of the straights I managed to push slightly over 150mph, around 154 if I remember, this was the one and only time I got the exit of the corner and stayed flat right and left the braking pretty late, I was generally seeing around 144-148mph due to messing up as the Silverstone has so many corners, myself having very little knowledge of the track its almost easy to get lost.
The car simply blew me away however.
Unfortunately when it came to the second session I had two issues, I got in the car to find my windscreen had developed a massive crack, then we remembered in Scotland a stone chipped the windscreen just below the wiper arm, which we forgot about, well Silvertone circuit reminded us, which goes to show the cornering forces involved. I pulled onto circuit with just over 1/3 of a tank of fuel remaining thinking I will be OK, well about 15-20 minutes into my sessions my cars was telling me off, no fuel no fuel, so we cooled off and ended the session early as I did not want to be that person killing everyone else's circuit time because of running out of fuel.
Whilst my car is down South at the bodyshop, the dealership has agreed to collect my car from bodyshop where they will fit me a new windscreen, wait for it at a cost of £3608 fitted, thankfully my insurance has confirmed they will cover the bill less the £100 excess.
Ferrari hospitality is second to none, we have now had several trips and weekends away at the expense of Ferrari and the dealership, who remain excellent. It is a real shame our trip to Italy and the Ferrari test circuit got cancelled for the SF90 launch due to Covid and we do hope Ferrari will be organising trips to Italy again in the future as visiting the factory would be an amazing experience.
Looking forward to getting my car back and I shall upload some videos we got of my car and the F1 cars lapping the circuit.
So how was the 458 on track?
In short mental, my first lap was spent warming up but as its a 3+ mile circuit I soon got upto speed and unfortunately I cannot name the corners but I turned into a corner which all of a sudden tighten up and lets just say my bottom also twitched as I was turning in slow and gentle whilst trying to very gently press the brake as I fully expected to run wide but the resulting action was a car with such an incredible front end with such incredible turning force that the g-force on my body was almost painful, the car just turned in, at the apex the backend went a little light and it let go but between my own corrective lock and the computer the slide was progressive and quite tidy. I can see why people like Silverstone, the corners are very fast, though many are unsighted and I was struggling with this somewhat backing off when I could have stayed flat. As the session progressed I got brave enough and I kept my foot flat using the whole circuit and wow, just simply wow the car was planted and when it was at the limits it was nothing but beautifully progressive.
In fact on track the steering comes alive with feel, the whole car is absolutely full of feel and the car feels like a proper lightweight race car, you really start to feel the pedigree in the car, the engine has power absolutely everywhere and so many of the corners are beyond 100mph, on the longer of the straights I managed to push slightly over 150mph, around 154 if I remember, this was the one and only time I got the exit of the corner and stayed flat right and left the braking pretty late, I was generally seeing around 144-148mph due to messing up as the Silverstone has so many corners, myself having very little knowledge of the track its almost easy to get lost.
The car simply blew me away however.
Unfortunately when it came to the second session I had two issues, I got in the car to find my windscreen had developed a massive crack, then we remembered in Scotland a stone chipped the windscreen just below the wiper arm, which we forgot about, well Silvertone circuit reminded us, which goes to show the cornering forces involved. I pulled onto circuit with just over 1/3 of a tank of fuel remaining thinking I will be OK, well about 15-20 minutes into my sessions my cars was telling me off, no fuel no fuel, so we cooled off and ended the session early as I did not want to be that person killing everyone else's circuit time because of running out of fuel.
Whilst my car is down South at the bodyshop, the dealership has agreed to collect my car from bodyshop where they will fit me a new windscreen, wait for it at a cost of £3608 fitted, thankfully my insurance has confirmed they will cover the bill less the £100 excess.
Ferrari hospitality is second to none, we have now had several trips and weekends away at the expense of Ferrari and the dealership, who remain excellent. It is a real shame our trip to Italy and the Ferrari test circuit got cancelled for the SF90 launch due to Covid and we do hope Ferrari will be organising trips to Italy again in the future as visiting the factory would be an amazing experience.
Looking forward to getting my car back and I shall upload some videos we got of my car and the F1 cars lapping the circuit.
Yep stunning, somehow they sound even better than they look. The cost, 5 million for the privilege.
Ferrari do not seem selective, in the grand scheme of things they have had 150k out of me, its my only Ferrari so far, I also know of people who have spent sub 100k and get the invites also, but saying that Dick Lovett seem the best of the dealers, I am also sure that someone who has spent millions will get even better treatment too. But they have blown me away, and speaking to people who have a lot more experience in the supercar world who have or had several marques they all say Ferrari does the hospitality the best.
My local Stratstone dealer has also invited me to Oulton Park weekend, which of course won't be as a big or as prestigious as Silverstone and I know the track time was £600 which Dick Lovett covered, whereas Stratstone wanted £200 of me to attend which to be fair is still very cheap but it does show the difference in dealerships where some will cover the full cost and some want some money towards it. But in fairness all Stratstone have had from me is a service and extending the warranty.
On a whole though they all seem very good, very customer focused and they really take pride in keeping all Ferrari's of all ages in good condition and on the road, they want the cars to be driven. You only have to walk into a Ferrari dealership to feel the levels of pride they have in the marque as most dealerships also generally have a large of selection of older cars on display too and they now all run several programmes helping owners to keep older cars in great condition by funding towards repair bills etc and free breakdown cover for life.
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