Automotive Einstein

The 458 was all new last year; it’s the latest in a long line of Ferrari sports cars with a mid-mounted V-8 engine. The 458 succeeded the F430, which itself replaced the 360 Modena, the model that more than any other put Ferrari back atop its pedestal as the maker of the world’s finest sports cars. The 458, like nothing else on the road today, is an intoxicating cocktail of knife-edged performance and computer-controlled driving bliss. The pistons in the direct-injected V-8 displace 4.5 liters of volume. (That, plus the number of cylinders, begat the name 458.) Redlined at 9000 bellowing rpm, the engine produces a staggering 562 hp, enough to accelerate to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds — and on to a top speed of 202 mph. (The Spider manages “only” 3.5 seconds and 198 mph.) Thanks to its looks, its sound, and its heritage, the Ferrari creates a scene wherever it goes. Driven in anger, it emits none of the high-pitched sweetness of its V-8 predecessors; the direct-injected eight yells a baritone wail. It corners as if each tire had negotiated its exclusion from the laws of physics, demonstrating razor-sharp reflexes and chassis balance that no engineer could have dreamed of a decade ago. As Ferrari moves further into the computer-controlled future, there’s no chance to mourn the manual transmission. The 458 is about speed, and it speeds like no other sports car in the world.

If you want a Ferrari with a manual transmission, the California is your only choice. That’s kind of ironic, since stick-shift cars have a reputation as the transmission choice of “real car guys” and the California is earning a reputation as the “housewives’ Ferrari.” It may be the soft-core alternative to the mid-engine 458 Italia, but the California still has enough brio to run with the best. The force behind the magic is a direct-injected (also Ferrari’s first) flat-plane-crankshaft V-8 spinning out 454 hp at a lofty 7500 rpm. The engine doesn’t crackle, bark, or scream the way other Maranello V-8s have, but that’s why this Ferrari presents itself as a more civilized alternative than those undeniably insane mid-engine cars. The California’s retractable hard top (another first for Ferrari) stores in fourteen seconds and leaves enough trunk room for two rollaway bags or one golf bag. A finished cargo shelf behind the front seats can be replaced with two very small rear seats — perhaps for small children. The rear-mounted, dual-clutch automatic transaxle is tuned for smooth shifts, and the light steering won’t bother the driver with too much feedback. The California, in fact, is so well mannered you might wonder how it came from the same company that built Scuderias, 16Ms, and 599GTOs. Of course, now you also know why it has earned its reputation as a Ferrari for the fairer sex.

It looks far better in person than it does in photos, but the FF probably won’t win any design awards. At least not for its styling. What’s underneath is a different story. Ferrari’s first all-wheel-drive system is a simple, elegant solution to a big engineering challenge: how do you send power to the front wheels of a car with its engine behind the front axle and the transaxle in back? Simple, you add a second transmission onto the front of the engine. The two-speed front transmission, or Power Transfer Unit, allows the FF to send torque to the front wheels without heavy driveshafts or differentials, and a built-in torque vectoring capability allows the FF’s computers to adjust the car’s cornering attitude. It’s brilliant. The FF’s V-12 engine is no less impressive. It is Ferrari’s first direct-injected twelve and uses six-into-one headers that were first seen on the 599GTO, which means it’s a screamer. It revs to 8200 rpm, and its torque peak of 504 lb-ft occurs at a lofty 6000 rpm, but it’s already making 370 lb-ft at 1000 rpm. In other words, by the time the tach needle hits one grand, the 6.3-liter V-12 is twisting out more torque than the California’s V-8 does at its peak. And that speaks to the drivability of the FF. With four large, comfortable seats, a spacious, gorgeously finished cargo space, and four-wheel drive, this is truly the first Ferrari you could drive every day.

Choosing The Winners
What’s the best car? Everybody wants to know. It’s a difficult question, really. There is no single best car. But when you drive as many different new vehicles as we do, people expect you to have an answer, and we do. The best new car introduced in the past year is our Automobile of the Year. For 2012, the winner is the Audi A7.

Photo Gallery: 2012 All-Stars – Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2012 All-Stars – Automobile Magazine

Without question, the Ferrari 458 Italia is the best car I have ever driven. You might assume the Italian supercar earns that distinction on sheer performance and sex appeal, but the truth is that the 458 is a much more complete car. Its excellence is in how it combines measured balance with raw capability unlike any other vehicle. The 458 Italia is sophisticated but visceral. Aggressive yet refined. Elegant and brutish. With the Spider, Ferrari aims to add one more contradiction to the 458′s achievements: a convertible that’s also a coupe.

Photo Gallery: First Drive: 2012 Ferrari 458 Spider – Automobile Magazine

If you are in the market for a Ferrari convertible, but find the California lacking in aggression, fear not: the Italian automaker has official pulled the wraps off of the new 458 Spider.

Photo Gallery: First Look: 2012 Ferrari 458 Spider – Automobile Magazine

There’s a new way to get sunburned in a Ferrari, as the Italian maker of exotics has announced the 458 Spider, a convertible version of the 458 Italia. The Ferrari 458 Spider is mechanically identical to the Italia coupe.

Photo Gallery: First Look: Ferrari 458 Spider – Automobile Magazine