Thursday 2nd October 2014

Ferrari 458 Speciale A - Paris 2014

Luca di Montezemolo unveils his last Ferrari; leaves the fireworks to the car

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A di Montezemolo motor show press presentation is always worth a visit. Ferrari being Ferrari there is always a sense of theatre but with this being the man's final motor show speech there was real emotion behind the scenes on the stand as the moment neared.

LdM's last Ferrari motor show speech...

When the moment came di Montezemolo, the Speciale A under a red satin sheet beside him, spoke as per normally of how Ferrari is a mix of passion, technology and 'emotional driving' and the Speciale A is the perfect embodiment of these values. Moreover we were told how its Side Slip Angle Control system lets every driver go to the limit "or even a little beyond" should they so wish. The numbers? We already knew them but to refresh your memory 605 of your finest normally aspirated Italian horses at a screaming 9,000rpm, identical performance to the Speciale coupe thanks to a minimal weight gain of just 50kg and a production run of just 499 cars. Full story here.

And, after a suitably dramatic pause, he then said he had another important announcement. Was this the big farewell? Nope, simply confirmation that the California T gain Apple CarPlay integrated into the infotainment system - this follows the world first introduction of the same on the FF.

Concluding with a simple "OK, I think now the words are over" and a "thank you for your attention" di Montezemolo slipped quietly off stage and the sheet was lifted from the car.

Ciao!

 

 

 

[exceed]

Aww, he's overseen some of the greatest cars that Ferrari has released in a very long time.

Hopefully he'll have a good send off, the man deserves it.

[Dave Hedgehog]

i did not think it was possible to make a 458 look any worse, but they have managed it

that car is just a shambles or random lines, curves and holes, ughhh!!

[Enricogto]

exceed said:

Aww, he's overseen some of the greatest cars that Ferrari has released in a very long time.

Hopefully he'll have a good send off, the man deserves it.

23m €

[Impasse]

Stripes are so last decade.

[thatguy11]

Impasse said:

Stripes are so last decade.

Like leather jackets, some things just never go out of fashion. Stripes is one of them

[V8A*ndy]

I take it they are all sold already?

[chelme]

'605 of your finest normally aspirated Italian horses at a screaming 9,000rpm'

I'd say 605 of your finest normally aspirated horses', period. After all they are the only ones to achieve the highest bhp per N/A litre for the last 18 years.

This is probably going the be regarded as one of, if not the greatest Ferraris of all time.

[epom]

I want one... a lot !!

[soad]

chelme said:

This is probably going the be regarded as one of, if not the greatest Ferraris of all time.

Price can only go up.

[TIGA84]

Not totally sold on the stripe/colour/interior combo, but it still looks great - like the way the stripe splays over the rear wing/deck, almost like the Cobra stripes split when they got to the front on some.

[V8 FOU]

Stunning!
Especially in Giallo. Best Ferrari in many years.....

[Gandahar]

chelme said:

I'd say 605 of your finest normally aspirated horses', period. After all they are the only ones to achieve the highest bhp per N/A litre for the last 18 years.

I can think of a BMW that produces a lot more. And it's a lot cheaper.

[Busso GTA]

Awesome machine

[Raph C]

This looks absolutely awful.

Thanks

[kenno78]

Gandahar said:

I can think of a BMW that produces a lot more. And it's a lot cheaper.

2 wheels don't count.

[alexpa]

kenno78 said:

Gandahar said:

I can think of a BMW that produces a lot more. And it's a lot cheaper.

2 wheels don't count.

Atom Mugen. Atom V8.

Looks quite busy in that colour. I'll have mine Gun metal grey, no stripes, no shields.

[250GTE]

TIGA84 said:

Not totally sold on the stripe/colour/interior combo, but it still looks great - like the way the stripe splays over the rear wing/deck, almost like the Cobra stripes split when they got to the front on some.

That , my friend..is a stripe

[Gandahar]

kenno78 said:

Gandahar said:

I can think of a BMW that produces a lot more. And it's a lot cheaper.

2 wheels don't count.

I assume you are talking about flywheels as surely the chassis etc does not have any determination on how good the engineers who do the engine are?

As someone mentioned Mugen / V8 Atom are up there too for a fraction of the price.

the poster who posted it is a died in the wool Ferrari fanboy though so it's no wonder he Speciale asperta'd into his pants.

[DG27]

Order and deposit is in

[OleVix]

DG27 said:

Order and deposit is in

Good one! Is it the cabrio or the coupe?