Ferrari Introduces 458 Challenge

Ferrari has a long and illustrious racing heritage. Formula One, endurance racing - you name it. The 458 Italia is the latest supercar to emerge from Ferrari , and, like always, it incorporates what Ferrari has learned from racing.

With the production model introduced at the Frankfurt Auto Show, now comes the time to the introduce the special Challenge racing model. As if "standard" Ferraris weren't sporting enough....

The car was introduced at Ferrari's Annual Dealer Meeting in Maranello. The Annual Dealer Meeting brings together Ferrari's dealers from the world over.

The V-8 in the 458 Italia stays the same as the standard model, producing 570 horsepower at (an insane) 9,000 rpm. However,  modifications have been made to the gear ratios and  dual-clutch F1 gearbox to offer more torque lower in the power band. As is customary with racing vehicles, a lot of the big changes focus on weight reduction.

In both the exterior and interior, Ferrari's engineers concentrated on reducing the thickness of bodyshell panels and replacing materials with lightweight ones such as carbon-fiber and Lexan. Curiously, they don't say by how much - it would be interesting to find out.

The Challenge model gets a specific suspension set-up with solid aluminium bushings, stiffer springs, single-rate dampers, 19" racing rims, larger Pirelli tires and a ride height that has been lowered by 30mm. To top it off, it gets highly-expensive next-generation carbon-ceramic Brembo CCM2 brakes.

They are integrated with an ABS system that features two configurations - low grip and high performance for dry surfaces. In addition, a first for a Ferrari Challenge model is the adoption of the F1-Trac traction control system.

The F1-Trac has two modes - wet and dry, and Ferrari says control logic and strategies have been derived from Ferrari's extensive racing experience in the F1 and GT championship. The system constantly monitors levels of grip.

Bottom line? The 458 Challenge's lap time at Fiorano has been improved by two seconds over that of its predecessor, resulting in a new record of 1'16.5" - all while generating 1.6G of lateral grip. The 458 Challenge will take part in the one-make Ferrari Challenge Trofeo, along with the previous F430 Challenge.