power hungry richie rich rejoice cos’ the most powerful naturally aspirated block on the Prancing Horse marque’s stable has gotten a little more powerful. meet the the Ferrari 458 Speciale and as the name suggests, this ain’t your regular 458 – it is special – starting of with the 4.5-liter V8 petrol unit that’s tweaked to deliver 596 horses (444 kW), a 34 horsepower bump from the standard issue on the original 458, though the torque still remains the same peaking at 540 Nm (398 lb-ft). the overall dry weight also sees a significant reduction – from 1,485 kg down to 1,290 kg (3,274 lbs down to 2,843 lbs) and along with advanced active aerodynamics, which would be employed in future Ferrari road cars, enables this classy beast to rocket from standstill to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 3 seconds and 9.1 seconds is all it takes to make the 200 km/h (124 mph) mark.
among the many other enhancements making this ride worthy of the namesake ‘special’ is an innovative Side Slip angle Control system (SSC) that allows for easier control of the vehicle even on the limit and a set of specially developed rubbers, the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup2 tires, that offers consistencies in performance on the track (keeping in mind that this isn’t a track-prep ride), as well as endowing the Ferrari 458 Speciale with the fastest response time and highest lateral acceleration ever achieved by a ride from the Maranello automaker. no word on when it be rolling into your local dealerships, or how much it will cost – though premium is to be expected, naturally – the question is only by how much? the Ferrari 458 Speciale will be officially premiering at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show next month, where more tidbits should be made available, but until then, you can get your fix for this beauty with the image gallery below.
