Something Speciale has arrived..
Discussion
Well today my childhood dream has become reality and I took delivery of my first Ferrari. A red (obviously) 458 Speciale.
I had sold my Voodoo Blue 991 GT3 a few months back and missed it dearly but knew that as some point I would need to tick the Ferrari box... after 3 Porkers it was time to do it.
I won't dwell on the values, prices, RHD v LHD etc etc.. to keep it short the RHD prices were out of my reach and I will use the car for roadtrips in Europe so LHD didn't bother me. And as it's a very occasional use car I hope I won't suffer too much.
Car is red with nart stripe and what I think is a good spec (although there's no limits with Ferrari as we know..). Full carbon engine bay (the side panels are optional as I learned during my search), lift, radio/nav/tel, 4 point belts (so uncomfortable that the fact they look good is the only positive thing..
), red stitching, telemetry pack and think some other bits and pieces.
I just drove it from the dealer (Autofficina - very professional guys) towards London in the rain and completely unfamiliar with Ferrari disastrous ergonomics. So was tense to say the least. Car feels MUCH wider than the 911, visibility is NOWHERE near as good but it's all repaid by the fact that it feels so special at any speed that I just kept pinching myself to check if it was all real..
Too early to tell on pretty much anything but the suspension in Bumpy road is pretty compliant, much more than my former GT3. And the car is not as low, i forgot to lift the car a few times (as it resets at a lower speed than the Porker) and never had any issues with speed bumps. I quite like the dashboard although navigating through the menus is not exactly intuitive.
I need more time with the car, in the dry and on open roads to get to know the beast. Also will need paint protection as this one doesn't have it and given the very low miles I want to preserve the paint condition (just don't get why people don't fit it from new.. I had my GT3 directly delivered to the PPF company).
So stay tuned for more reports.. and real life comparisons with the GT3..
I had sold my Voodoo Blue 991 GT3 a few months back and missed it dearly but knew that as some point I would need to tick the Ferrari box... after 3 Porkers it was time to do it.
I won't dwell on the values, prices, RHD v LHD etc etc.. to keep it short the RHD prices were out of my reach and I will use the car for roadtrips in Europe so LHD didn't bother me. And as it's a very occasional use car I hope I won't suffer too much.
Car is red with nart stripe and what I think is a good spec (although there's no limits with Ferrari as we know..). Full carbon engine bay (the side panels are optional as I learned during my search), lift, radio/nav/tel, 4 point belts (so uncomfortable that the fact they look good is the only positive thing..
), red stitching, telemetry pack and think some other bits and pieces. I just drove it from the dealer (Autofficina - very professional guys) towards London in the rain and completely unfamiliar with Ferrari disastrous ergonomics. So was tense to say the least. Car feels MUCH wider than the 911, visibility is NOWHERE near as good but it's all repaid by the fact that it feels so special at any speed that I just kept pinching myself to check if it was all real..
Too early to tell on pretty much anything but the suspension in Bumpy road is pretty compliant, much more than my former GT3. And the car is not as low, i forgot to lift the car a few times (as it resets at a lower speed than the Porker) and never had any issues with speed bumps. I quite like the dashboard although navigating through the menus is not exactly intuitive.
I need more time with the car, in the dry and on open roads to get to know the beast. Also will need paint protection as this one doesn't have it and given the very low miles I want to preserve the paint condition (just don't get why people don't fit it from new.. I had my GT3 directly delivered to the PPF company).
So stay tuned for more reports.. and real life comparisons with the GT3..
I had a question for fellow Speciale owners. I find the throttle pedal incredibly sensitive. Much more so than my GT3...
I guess is normal but am I the only one to have noticed this? And is the throttle mapping changed by the various manettino settings ? I didn't look specifically in the owner's manual I have to admit... But even in sport is extremely sensitive and haven't tried Race yet with this shyte weather and lack of time to take it out of town.
I guess is normal but am I the only one to have noticed this? And is the throttle mapping changed by the various manettino settings ? I didn't look specifically in the owner's manual I have to admit... But even in sport is extremely sensitive and haven't tried Race yet with this shyte weather and lack of time to take it out of town.
rosino said:
I had a question for fellow Speciale owners. I find the throttle pedal incredibly sensitive. Much more so than my GT3...
I guess is normal but am I the only one to have noticed this? And is the throttle mapping changed by the various manettino settings ? I didn't look specifically in the owner's manual I have to admit... But even in sport is extremely sensitive and haven't tried Race yet with this shyte weather and lack of time to take it out of town.
The throttle is reasonably sensitive, which can make for untidy progress in 1st gear if one is hamfisted (footed?), or some unexpected squirming of the rear at up to 100 mph in the wet. Smoothness really matters. When the rubber lets go the electronics can generally save things but their astonishing black magic voodoo is not completely infallible.I guess is normal but am I the only one to have noticed this? And is the throttle mapping changed by the various manettino settings ? I didn't look specifically in the owner's manual I have to admit... But even in sport is extremely sensitive and haven't tried Race yet with this shyte weather and lack of time to take it out of town.
I don't believe the throttle sensitivity changes with manettino settings but to be honest I have never looked for it.
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