Ferrari's stunning new delicacy
The new Ferrari 458 Italia is "keeping me awake, like no other car for quite a long time", says James May in The Daily Telegraph. "It does look fantastic, doesn't it?" And it also got May thinking: "shouldn't a chap, if possible, once in his lifetime, even if only for one glorious summer, before it's too late, own a Ferrari? I'm beginning to think so."
Even the idea of owning one is "delicious", says May; Ferraris are a delicacy that "smell fantastic and complex", make you salivate and tingle. "I'm 46 years old and I won't have the wits to deal with such things for much longer, and I like the idea of driving a Ferrari into my own personal sunset." If you have the money, and don't mind looking like "a plonker" driving one, then the 458 is the most tempting offer from Ferrari for many years.
With a top speed of 203mph and a 0-60mph sprint time of less than 3.5 seconds, it's also the fastest car Ferrari has ever built, says Dan Strong in AutoExpress. It offers a "staggering" 570bhp at 9,000rpm, and it is far from being a mere cosmetic improvement on its F430 predecessor. The engine, chassis and suspension technology have all had upgrades. Magnesium and carbon fibre have been used throughout to keep the weight down, and it has a radical new look designed by Pininfarina.
It's all new inside too, says Dan Stevens in Autocar, with a minimalist, avant-garde style coupled with Formula 1-derived driver information systems. All indicators, wiper stalks and so on are replaced with buttons on the steering wheel, and the car tells the driver when the brakes, tyres and engine are at the optimum temperature. It's debuting at this month's Frankfurt motor show, and is set to hit UK roads early next year. Prices have yet to be announced, but don't expect change from £175,000.