Ride in a 458 Italia

Written by Philip

A few weeks ago, Stephen Price who runs Premiere Velocity (@PVsupercars) ran a competition to get 1000 followers on Twitter with the winner riding and driving (if over 25) a Ferrari 458 Italia. I happened to stumble upon this from a fellow twitter user who had re-tweeted his original tweet. Intrigued, I followed PVsupercars awaiting the next tweets concerning the competition. I got down to re-tweeting and sent a few tweets to Stephen myself when I had the time. As the amount of followers raised I waited anxiously for the day when he hit the big 1000. The day finally arrived some time later and much to my dismay I was told the winner would be announced at 8pm! ARGH!

Come 8pm I was a world away watching television when my phone pinged up an email. I opened it and it stated ‘PVsupercars is now following you on Twitter’. My heart raced. Surely I hadn’t won? I mean really, out of 1000 followers I had been chosen? Then I saw the message ‘Congratulations you’ve won the competition! My heart skipped a beat; I had actually won a competition! I was going to go in a Ferrari 458 Italia! Before the feeling of excitement had settled in my inbox was full of people congratulating me on the win. I was overwhelmed to say the least. I got in touch with Stephen, thanked him and set about messaging back the new followers and people congratulating me.

I spoke to Stephen soon after and tried to arrange a date for the ride. We finally settled on February 14th, during my half term luckily.

The big day finally arrived. The plan was to go down there in style in my dad’s Porsche 944 Cabriolet. Sadly though it was written off in an accident on black ice a couple of weeks earlier. Bye bye Porsche Nevertheless we made the journey from Bromley to Ware in the Volvo and made good timing arriving a bit early. We were greeted and shown around some of the cars they had on offer. Sadly the supercars had all gone with exception to the 458 and a Porsche Carrera GTS which stole our attention in its gleaming white paintwork.

The 458 was pulled out of its rather tight parking space and we got to have a good old root around the car and chat with the staff whilst waiting for Stephen. Sitting in the driving seat you can really tell that this is a fine piece of technology. The interior is vastly different to its predecessor, the 430. It looked less bulky, more crisp and sharp; in particular I loved the air vents sticking out effectively creating a zone for the driver and the passenger. The driver’s seat felt more like a captain’s ship aboard the Starship Enterprise with all the controls pointing towards the driver, with a great huge wide windscreen stretching in front of you. The seats were firm, but also supporting and comfortable. One criticism I remember was that of the steering wheel. Apparently it had too many buttons and was too complicated. However it felt just fine, and saw no obvious problem with it. The carbon fire trim is certainly an option worth having on it.

The time came for my ride. We had a quick chat with Stephen as I clambered out of the driver’s seats and slotted myself into the passenger one and awaited what followed. The noise on start-up was exquisite. The 4.5 litre V8 barked into life, and quickly quietened down into a quiet rumble. We pulled out onto the road and though the ride, like the seats was firm, it was still very comfortable, and quiet. Hiding behind the quiet, subtle and comfortable disguise though was a monster. The acceleration and sheer pace of the thing was amazing. There was so much to take in, and before you knew it you were pinned to the back of the seat with that roaring engine behind you with number you had to see to believe appearing on the speedometer.

After a brief stint on a dual carriageway where the speed capabilities were demonstrated we ventured into the country lanes where even in the damp conditions the car handled exquisitely.

We arrived back at base where Fad was offered a ride in the car too and needless to say he was blown away when he returned. Thus this concluded out day. I didn’t really know what to expect of the 458. Rave reviews had excited me and knew it would be fast. But that’s nothing anybody can get across to. It’s so well rounded, the technical advance since the 430 is mesmerising, and the figures on paper mean nothing until you’ve experienced the awesome power and delivery for yourself, and the comfort of the thing combined would make you think this is in fact an ideal every day car. Though you may find that the speed can lead you into trouble.

Quite simply I had the time of my life. Thank you very much!

by Philip

@PVsupercars is running a competition for 5 lucky people to win a ride in the Mclaren MP4-12C at 5000 followers. For your chance follow him and RT.