It's only been a while since Chevy started shipping the Corvette Stingray on the other side of the pond, and for the first time ever, they've decided to offer it with right-hand drive, serving markets like the U.K, Australia, and Japan. As these things are currently, hot off the oven, Mat Watson from CarWow decided to pit it against a similarly sized Ferrari 458 Specialé to see what's what. Here's how it went down.

Chevrolet Corvette Stingray

In the bronze corner, you've got this gorgeous C8 Corvette Stingray. Under the skin lies a mid-mounted 6.2-liter naturally-aspirated cross plank V-8 mill that packs 482 horsepower and 452 lb-ft of torque. Now, the LT2 has been de-tuned in order to comply with the tighter emissions norms on the continent.

Also, all Euro-spec cars come with the Z51 package as standard. Power is sent to the rear wheels via an eight-speed Tremec DCT auto. The 'Vette weighs 3,648 pounds. This particular example costs £77,200 or $96,389, yikes! Steep, I bet it's got a few optional extras.

Ferrari 458 Speciale

The other car here is this fiery red Ferrari 458 Specialé from 2014. I'm not really sure about the gold wheels, but I'm not surprised why one wouldn't want to shout about how well they're doing for themselves, with these flash rims. Anyway, coming to numbers, under the hood you'll find a 4.5-liter naturally aspirated V-8 engine that produces 605 Italian stallions and 398 pound-feet of torque.

It drives the rear wheels via a seven-speed DCT transmission. While the Ferrari may be slightly down on torque, it is lighter than the C8 by a couple of hundred lbs coming in at 3,306 pounds. Considering how desirable and collectible the 458 Specialé is, its prices are knocking on the door at an estimated £400,000 or ~$500,000. Mat further adds that the Italian exotics gain about £15,000 or ~$18,700, every month.

The Races

In the first round, the Ferrari got absolutely annihilated in by the C8. After pulling some donuts in the second round, the Italian car managed to gain some ground as it took round two. This eventually led Mat to also put some heat into the rubber for a definitive third round. Both cars got the perfect launch and the C8 was once again in the lead, but the Ferrari managed to get past by the narrowest of margins. It did the standing 1/4 mile in 11.7 seconds against the Stingray's 11.8 seconds.

In the rolling races from 50 mph, the Corvette had a better kick down against the Ferrari in auto, but switching it up to manual mode saw the 458 gradually pull away from the 'Vette to the 1/2 mile marker. Finally, in the brake test, the Italian car managed to come to a stop at a shorter distance. The lighter weight clearly played in its favor. The Ferrari also has carbon ceramics, so no surprise that it was able to take this round.

To Sum It Up

So, the Ferrari won, but I'd argue, not by the biggest of margins. Is the Italian car really worth the price premium? Perhaps, but if you just consider the performance, I think the Corvette offers some phenomenal performance for the money. I can't wait to see what a C8 Z06 does to a Specialé. With both cars featuring a flat-plane crank V-8, the soundtrack from the two cars will be nothing short of evocative.