What's all this about?
Ferrari looks to be succumbing to the pressures of the eco-crowd, as its road car range moves from normal aspiration to forced induction (i.e. turbos) in the coming years. There are rumours the current NA V8s will be the last of the line. So here's one hell of a way to sign off - the Ferrari 458 Speciale A.
A?
For 'Aperta', one of the many wonderful-sounding Italian words that basically means 'convertible'. The Speciale A has an aluminium roof that can fold or raise (although it's not a poker player) in just 14 seconds, which means a 50kg penalty over the Speciale coupé's 1,395kg kerb weight.
So the Aperta is slower, then?
Actually, no. Ferrari is claiming it can hit 62mph from rest in the same three seconds dead, while - more pertinently - the A is said to lap the Fiorano test track in exactly the same scorching 1m 23.5s as the Speciale; that makes it the joint-third fastest road-going Ferrari round Fiorano ever, behind the LaFerrari hypercar and the F12 Berlinetta.
Crikey! How does it do this?
It has the same mid-mounted 4.5-litre V8 engine with 605hp and 540Nm, powering the rear wheels through a seven-speed twin-clutch gearbox. It puts all this down to the tarmac cleanly enough to achieve such amazing performance data thanks to active aerodynamics, a super-rigid chassis (incorporating ten different aluminium alloys) and Side Slip Angle Control (SSC).
It looks beautiful.
Doesn't it just? Finished in a triple-layer yellow paint with a Blu Nart and Bianco Avus centre stripe, plus five-spoke forged wheels in Grigio Corsa, it is every inch the jaw-dropping Italian supercar.
Hang on - isn't the interior, erm... blue?
Yes, because the carbon fibre clothing the dash, centre console and sculpted door cards is all blue. We're sure you don't have to have this if you don't want, although the race-inspired steering wheel with the Manettino switch is an absolute given.
Ah, so how much to order one of my own?
Two problems here - one, Ferrari hasn't released a price, but you might as well budget on it being in the £230,000 ballpark. And two, just 499 Speciale As will be built, with all of them 'dedicated to Ferrari collectors'. So unless you've got a couple of F40s stashed away in your garage, it's unlikely you'll be able to buy this wonderful 458.
Matt Robinson - 25 Sep 2014