If you ask me what the most spectacular car is,
there is one 10 year old car that's undoubtedly in the top-5:
the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale.
The sound of that car was incredibly loud,
I drove next to a wall, opened the window and simply hurt my ears.
Fantastic.
The noise was not the only difference with the 'normal' 360 Modena,
It was, like the 430 Scuderia, more hardcore.
This car is it's successor: the 458 Speciale.
Ferrari took the car to a higher level,
and says this is a whole new car.
Not only suspension and weight changed, but much more.
Half of the parts of the Speciale differ from the Italia.
It makes this car 1.5 seconds faster on Fiorano,
quite a lot for a track that's only 3 km long.
McLaren won't admit it,
but this Speciale was the reason the 12C was replaced by the 650S.
In terms of power the 650S does better than the 458,
For the simple reason turbocharged engines are easier to tune.
But this naturally aspirated V8 is way more sensational.
This is absolutely bonkers!
There where many small changes made to the engine,
As a result, it deliveres 605 instead of 570 PS.
This might not seem like a lot,
but all the extra power is delivered between 7.000 and 9.000 tpm.
I'm almost speechless, what a fantastic car.
And then there's the noise... judge for yourself!
I love it.
Ferrari managed to make the Speciale 90 kg lighter than the Italia.
The use of carbon fibre is one of the most important causes,
but even the windows, aluminium parts, wheels and brakes are lighter.
Together saving 90 kg, so this car weighs only 1395 kg.
Just like the F12 I drove last year,
this car has all kinds of active aerodynamics.
This is also new, and different from the 458 Italia.
It's visible on the outside:
the air is guided very efficient and clever around the car,
causing as much downforce as possible.
It even has moving 'flaps' in front bumper and diffusser,
adjusting for optimal effects at every moment.
When driving in a straight line, the flaps work like a DRS.
A Drag Reduction System, just like F1-cars.
causing a 10 to 15 km/h higher top speed.
In corners, you can't tell what's doing what, but it surely works.
Even in tight corners, there is hardly any understeer.
This is very special for a mid-engined car.
This Speciale is way more direct than an Audi R8,
or even a McLaren.
While a McLaren can easily be used as a daily,
this car only wants to go as fast as possible.
Just thinking of a gearchange is enough to change gear.
The gearbox-software changed as well,
downshifting goes 44 percent faster.
I just do this... and it changes gear.
This car offers a real racing experience on the street, very rare.
There is only 1 car that's comparable: the Porsche 911 GT3.
But this is way more spectacular and faster... a beast.
But its a beast you can control.
This car is just sensational,
and despite all the high-tech, very pure as well.
I can only conclude this:
The Challenge Stradale is a thing from the past,
this 458 Speciale is my number 1.