Ferrari 458 Italia 2009
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On occasion of the 2009 Frankfort Motor Show, Ferrari unveiled its new Ferrari 458 Italia that replaces the F430. The Ferrari 458 Italia is an 8 cylinder two seater berlinetta with a mid-rear mounted engine that bears its name from the traditional figure the displacement and number of cylinder (45 = 4.500 cc, 8 for 8 cylinder) followed by Italia to pay an homage to the country where it was designed and manufactured. Thanks to a new 4.499 cc V8 engine, which punches out 570 hp, the F1 dual-clutch gearbox and the 1.380 kg dry weight, the 458 Italia sprints from 0 to 100 kph in under 3,4 seconds and hits a maximum speed of over 325 kph. |
The Pininfarina design features compact, aerodynamic lines, underscoring the concepts of performance-oriented efficiency that inspired the project. The nose features a single opening for the front grille and side air intakes, with aerodynamic sections and profiles designed to direct air to the coolant radiators and the new flat underbody. The nose also sports small aero-elastic winglets which generate down force and, as speed rises, deform to reduce the section of the radiator intake and cut drag.
The oil radiators for the F1 gearbox and the dual-clutch are situated in the tail and air is fed from two intakes on the top of the rear wings. This solution provides a base bleed effect, an aerodynamic function that was developed by Ferrari for the FXX and which reduces drag by feeding the hot air out of the radiators under the nolders and into the slip stream. Using experience gained in aerodynamic development on the Ferrari F430 GT2, the flat underbody now incorporates the air intakes for engine bay cooling. These are positioned ahead of the wheel arches where they use pressure difference to efficiently channel air flow to the engine bay, at the same time generating more rear down force. The car's sills are characterised by two keel forms that act as the surround to the novel triple exhaust tail pipes, a styling cue that recalls the legendary F40 and gives the 458 Italia's tail and aggressive sporty stance. The aerodynamic development results in a Drag coefficient Cd 0,33 and with down force of 140 kg at 200 kph and no less than 360 kg at top speed.
The engine is a dry-sump 90 degree V8. It is an entirely new design engineered to reach a maximum of 9.000 rpm with a high 12,5:1 compression ratio and maximum power output of 570 hp. this equates to an outstanding 127 hp/litre. The maximum torque is 540 Nm at 6.000 rpm with over 80 percent available from 3.250 rpm.
One of the important novelties on the Ferrari 458 Italia is the introduction of the 7-speed F1 dual-clutch gearbox which guarantees faster yet smoother changes. There is no interruption of engine torque to the driven wheels. |
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The modular chassis is an all-new design. New alloys join the traditional aluminium, along with high-resistance aluminium extrusions, developed by the aviation industry, and an innovative manufacturing processes, such as heat-forming. The aim was to keep weight down to the benefit of performance and handling. The result is a chassis with improved structural rigidity, with torsional rigidity up 15 per cent compared to the F430 and beam stiffness up 5 per cent.
Ferrari's engineers concentrated their efforts on obtaining the maximum in terms of efficiency in every aspects of the car, and their commitment was repaid with levels of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of 13,7 km/litre and 307 g/km respectively in the combined cycle (ECE+EUDC)
wallpapers of the Ferrari 458 Italia 2009 click to enlarge
Ferrari 458 Italia 2009 : related review
