Back in January Portuguese soccer sensation Cristiano Ronaldo had a little incident with his Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano and if you don’t understand what sarcasm is then you can skip to the bottom of this article to see what we are talking about. Since the accident, Cristano has been seen eyeing a few different Ferrari’s to replace his smashed up 599. Now that the year is coming to a close and the Italian automaker is offering an all new mid engine sports car that promises to be as quick as the larger GTB there is little guesswork left in trying to figure out what he will be driving. Like any successful footballer and Ferrarista, the newly street legal Ferrari 458 Italia would be a perfect fit for Cristiano’s car collection.
The soccer phenom is so interested in the new 458 Italia that he has scheduled a trip to Maranello where he will have the chance to get behind the wheel of the new car so that he can make a more informed decision. Now you can’t just write a letter to Luca di Montezemolo and ask for Ferrari to open up the Fiorano circuit so that you can go for a test drive. You either need to be someone very important in popular culture or a big benefactor for Ferrari, after all not many people can say that they have put rubber to the road on the same track where Ferrari’s F1 team practices.
Cristiano will definitely have his hands full when he goes to test drive the 458 Italia. Under the rear deck lid Ferrari has placed a 4.5 Liter V8 engine equipped with the traditional Ferrari flat crankshaft that gives the mid-engine 458 sports cars their signature top end bark. The unit produces 570 HP at a rather high 9000 RPM and still get 18 MPG. Weighing in at only 3042 pounds, the new Ferrari will rocket from 0 to 60 MPH in just 3.4 seconds and won’t stop until it hits a top speed of 202 MPH. We just hope that the 458 Italia won’t suffer the same fate as his previous 599.
In a bit of cross promotions for both their Formula One team and road car program, Ferrari has just released this viral video letting all of the F1 fans around the world that Felipe Massa is doing all right by documenting his recent visit to the factory in Maranello where he met with the team and management, before getting to know the new 570 HP 458 Italia first hand. If you aren’t familiar with the recent news surrounding the Brazilian driver’s recent drama; back on July 25, 2009 a spring came off of the car in front of Massa’s Ferrari F60 and struck him in the head at around 150 MPH during the second round of qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Felipe was immediately air lifted to a nearby hospital and placed into an induced coma to allow the healing to begin. More recently Massa underwent successful reconstructive surgery in Miami on September 1st with the hopes of competing in the Italian Grand Prix a few weeks later. Unfortunately he was unable to make an appearance at the automaker’s home race, but from the looks of thing he is doing quite well considering the circumstances. After all, he’s sitting pretty inside of a 458 Italia.
We’ve seen a lot of accidents over the years and for the most part, we’ve been happy enough to say that despite those unfortunate circumstances, the people involved have been lucky enough to escape from the wrecks breathing and their limbs intact. Unfortunately, this isn’t one of them.
In an accident that happened about a week ago in Rome, a 2003 Ferrari 360 Modena crashed head-on with a Fiat Punto, resulting in a devastating accident that killed both drivers and seriously injured a couple more, including a motorcycle driver.
The wreckage doesn’t even paint the picture as to how destructive the accident is. It’s one thing to crash a car and live to tell stories about it, but it’s another thing to crash and lose your life in the process.
To those who were involved and lost their lives, rest in peace, buddies.
Even though the Ferrari 458 is scheduled to make its official debut simultaneously in both the Frankfurt Motor Show and the Galeria Ferrari in Maranello on September 15, the exotic Italian automaker has already shown off the F-430 replacement to a select crowd of very fortunate individuals. From the looks of things, everyone from current F1 driver Kimi Raikkonen to the legendary Michael Schumacher were on stage to introduce the new mid engine berlinetta as well as other Ferrari bigwigs like Luca de Montezemolo and Enzo’s successor, his son Piero.
Under the hood Ferrari has placed a 4.5 Liter V8 engine equipped with the traditional Ferrari flat crankshaft that gives the mid-engine sports cars their signature top end bark. The unit produces 570 HP at a rather high 9000 RPM which gives the future super car a power output of 127 HP/Liter. Weighing in at only 3042 pounds, the new Ferrari will rocket from 0 to 60 MPH in just 3.4 seconds and won’t stop until it hits a top speed of 202 MPH.
The third installment of the new Ferrari 458 Italia prerelease extravaganza entitled Performance is an up close look at what will make the future Ferrari excel as a driver’s car. Considering that the last installment, Design, was narrated by Paolo Pininfarina, the heir to the historic Italian design studio it is only fitting that the latest member of the Formula One elite and the man who brought the Italian racing team back to greatness in the sport throughout the 1990s and into the new millennium.
Wearing a very casual outfit, Michael Schumacher candidly talks about the new sports car’s suspension that is comfortable to drive and sporty when it needs to be, the car’s previously unseen braking performance and the 458’s tremendous acceleration is due to the refined gearbox. The Ferrari design team has also incorporated more of the car’s controls onto the steering wheel, a move learned from F1 increasing both the Italia’s precision and accuracy.
Ever since Michael Schumacher retired from the activity that awarded him seven world championships, five of which came behind the wheel of a Ferrari, he has been hanging around Maranello conducting new product testing and participating in their high performance sports cars development at the Fiorano circuit; Schumi has even been spotted from time to time hanging around the Scuderia’s paddock on grand prix weekends so he would be the man to talk to about what the new Ferrari 458 Italia is like from the driver’s seat.
There has been a lot of hype and speculation surrounding the upcoming Ferrari 458 Italia well at least the dream makers from Maranello have put one of those rest by confirming that the F-430’s replacement will make its international auto show debut this September at the Frankfurt Motor Show. However the Italia’s official unveiling won’t be limited to the German auto show because on September 15th, the first press day of the festivities in Frankfurt, the 458 Italia will also be on display at the Galleria Ferrari.
The Galleria Ferrari is a museum dedicated to the Italian sports car builder and is located only about 1000 feet from the factory floor in Maranello. We are pretty sure that if good old Enzo were still around, the 15th would be declared a national holiday so that the craftsmen and women who are responsible for the new 458 can enjoy a little automotive art as well.
After yesterday’s Ferrari 458 feature entitled Stile with Paolo Pininfarina, the automaker has announced that the next video installment will be released on September 2nd and it titled Performance with Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher, perhaps this video will answer a few more of our questions about what will make the Italia so great.
After suffering serious head injuries due to a rogue spring that came off of fellow Brazilian Rubens Barichello’s Brawn GP racecar during qualifying, it appears that Felipe Massa will be back in time for the most important race on Ferrari’s calendar, September 13, the Italian Grand Prix. Back at the Hungaroring, Massa suffered a fracture at the base of his skull and was immediately airlifted to a nearby hospital to undergo surgery and then put into an induced coma in order to speed up the healing process, and it looks like it worked.
This news comes right after the Maestro, Michael Schumacher announced that he will not be stepping back behind the wheel. This report has not yet been confirmed by the Scuderia, but team members have said that Massa is making remarkable progress with his recovery and should he make a return in Italy. Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali visited the Brazilian last week: "Felipe is in excellent form and his recovery is going very well!... I’m very happy about Felipe’s state,... The medical checks which have been carried out over the last two weeks continue to be very encouraging...Now it’s important to be patient and take one step at a time, without any hurry."
If Massa does return, Formula One’s governing body would require him to undergo a full examination by the sport’s doctors before he can compete at speed once again. Ferrari’s test driver Luca Badoer will stand in for Massa in next weekend’s European Grand Prix at Valencia after the sad news from the Maestro being forced to cancel his comeback due to the lingering neck injury.
The Italian auto conglomerate, which has made news recently for purchasing car brands left and right, has been given approval by the Italian government to purchase the fledgling Italian coachbuilders for $215.9 million, which will be invested in a span of three years.
While Fiat was in hot pursuit of Bertone, it did face some stiff competition from a number of other companies that made similar bids to acquire Bertone. These included Italian entrepreneurs Gianmario, Rossignolo, Domenico Reviglio, the Chinese-based FAW Group Corp. and a Spanish consortium that appears to have kept its name under wraps.
Fiat’s offer to buy Bertone isn’t the first time that company has tried to purchase the coachmakers. Fiat first began negotiations to buy stakes in Bertone in 2006 but as it turned out, talks between the two stalled and ended up being scrapped a few months later.
While most of its competitors are busy tightening their pockets and trying to save as much money as they can, Fiat is taking the opposite approach and has been on a recent spending spree. After purchasing Chrysler last month, the Italian-based automakers have also thrown their name on the hat as potential buyers of GM’s European and Latin American divisions, which, incidentally includes Opel and Vauxhall.
If that wasn’t enough, Fiat also offered a non-binding bid to purchase the legendary Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Bertone. Fiat, however has a number of competitors in pursuit of the Italy’s oldest coachbuilder brand, including Domenico Reviglio - head of Gruppo Prototipo, Lancia CEO Gianmario Rossignolo, Chinese automaker FAW and an additional unspecified Spanish concern.
The specifics behind Kia’s attempt at purchasing Bertone are still being kept under wraps. However, word has leaked that the Italian auto-giants are interested in a specific division – the Carrozzeria Bertone SpA - of the Gruppo Bertone corporation.
Bertone has been relatively quiet for a while now, but if Kia does indeed win the race to purchase the Italian coachbuilder, then we might as well expect to see this legendary brand return to the streets.
The next time you find yourself in Italy and may need a rental car, we suggest that you give Hertz a call. Not only is it one of the more established car rental brands in the world, but they’re latest fleet of rentals are enough to make everyone scramble for the rental company’s phone number. When you do go through to them, might we suggest that you ask for a Lotus Elise SC. We guarantee you won’t regret it.
As one of the world’s most popular sports cars, the Elise SC is now available for rent from Hertz Italiana S.p.A. Part of the agreement between the car rental company and Lotus Cars Limited, the sports car subsidiary of Group Lotus, a fleet of Lotus Elise SC’s will be made available to hire from a number of Hertz centers throughout Italy.
It’s a tie-up that both companies are eager to get started.According to Michael Kimberley, Chief Executive Officer of Group Lotus, “I am delighted that Lotus Cars has entered into this agreement with Hertz, giving us the opportunity to make our stunning world class sports cars available to the rental market.
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