Opening the door of the low slung, sleek and undeniably Italian black coupe led me to a comfortable seat. Stitched in red and finished in black leather, the subtle comfort of the seat would have made proud the cow who was sacrificed.
Despite being comfortable, the seat was wholly fit for purpose, cosseting me in, with the well positioned side bolsters and head rest.
The driver edged his finger forward towards the red button on which was written the words I'd been waiting to see.
Engine Start.
The stallion shook gently as the 4.5 litre flat plane V8 burbled into life, bringing with it a low bass thrum which filled the cockpit, adding to the ambience and drama of the whole situation.
After a short drive a cross gravel and a left turn, we we're ready to go out on the main road. The sound from the V8 wailing to the 9000rpm was truly magnificent!
Equally glorious was the the feeling of being pressed right back into the seat, signifying great acceleration due in full to the 0-60 time of 3.4seconds. It was evident from the beginning that this car lays down all of the power, the delivery was linear and unfathomably smooth, and every gear change was a non event, so much so that the only indication of changing gear was by sound, or by watching the tachometer rise to 9000 and fall back to repeat its rapid climb to the lofty red line.
All throughout the drive, one thing became clear. This car is amazing. The ride quality is very good for a super car, or in fact, for any car. It's technologically sound. The car is super quick, and the marriage of the 7-speed dual clutch gearbox to the naturally aspirated V8 allows it to take advantage of each component, the final result is a group effort of parts working together, for the purpose of speed, handling and ride quality...among other things.
The ride in the 458 italia has only fuelled my desire for Super cars. The exotica and exquisite attention to detail of these machines is amazing. The ride was very enjoyable and I'm very thankful to the driver for letting me come along in his pride an joy.
Below is a video I recorded of my ride in the 458, I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed filming it.
By Andrew
No comments:
Post a Comment