458 Challenge The 458 Challenge is a
race car designed to participate in the
Ferrari Challenge. It was presented at the Ferrari Annual Dealer Meeting on 14 July 2010 for the 2011 Ferrari Challenge season. The 458 Challenge Evo was introduced for the 2014 season and was replaced by the 488 Challenge for the 2017 season. Hence both variants of the 458 Challenge were used as the prime Challenge car for three seasons, the 458 Challenge for 2011 to 2013 and the 458 Challenge Evo for 2014 to 2016. According to Ferrari the standard (non-Evo) 458 Challenge can lap the
Fiorano test track in 1:16.5, which is two seconds faster than its
F430 Challenge predecessor and only 0.2 seconds slower than the
Ferrari FXX. Given the Evo upgrade, the 458 Challenge Evo is faster around the Fiorano test track than the Ferrari FXX. Weight of the 458 Challenge was reduced from the standard 458 through the use of thinner body panels, carbon fibre replacement panels, and polycarbonate windows and windshield. Other differences over the regular road legal 458 include a racing cockpit with a
Sabelt racing seat and six-point seat-belt harness, detachable steering wheel using a Lifeline quick-detach, plumbed-in Lifeline fire extinguisher system, air-jack mounting on the rear to lift the car up, racing fuel filler cap,
center-lock wheels, a racing exhaust as well as tow hooks on the front and rear. The 2014 Evo upgrade was mainly focused on improving the aerodynamics of the 458 Challenge, with the most obvious change being the inclusion of a large rear wing. Ferrari sold an Evo upgrade kit, so that pre-2014 458 Challenge cars could be upgraded by Ferrari dealers and race teams to Evo spec. Total production of the 458 Challenge and 458 Challenge Evo combined is just under 150 cars. Of this total, production of the Evo version is estimated at 30%, meaning that just over 100 458 Challenges and a little under 50 458 Challenge Evos were produced. It is estimated that between five and ten cars were destroyed through accidents each season, meaning that somewhere between 25 and 50 458 Challenge cars have been lost with the remaining cars possibly numbering less than 100.
458 Italia GT2 }} }} }} Ferrari unveiled their new
GTE class racer in 2011 built by long-time Ferrari sportscar racing constructor Michelotto, to take part in Championships sanctioned by the
ACO and the
FIA. The 458 Italia GT2 drops the "flex splitter" found in the road cars in favour of a more conventional inlet, with the air exiting out through the louvers in the bonnet. Under new restrictor regulations, the 4.5-litre V8 engine generates a power output of , which is less than the road car and the 458 Challenge. Unlike the road car, which has a high-revving low-torque engine, the engine in the GTE version only has a red line of 6,250 rpm, but maintains a close-to-stock torque number even with the horsepower loss. The double-clutch gearbox had to be replaced, but paddle-shifting is retained since the amended rules in 2011 allow them. The car won the
2012 and
2014 24 Hours of Le Mans, the
2012 12 Hours of Sebring and two editions of the
Petit Le Mans, the first in
2011 and the second in
2012. In 2011, the 458 Italia GT2 took the
Intercontinental Le Mans Cup GTE Manufacturers' and the GTE PRO Team Titles, the
Le Mans Series GTE Manufacturers' and GTE PRO Team and Drivers' honours and the
International GT Open Overall and Super GT Team and Drivers' crowns. The following year, with the creation of an FIA-managed World Championship, the car obtained the GTE Manufacturers' and GTE PRO Team Titles in the
FIA World Endurance Championship. In the same year the Italian car gained the
European Le Mans Series GTE PRO Team and Drivers' honours and the
International GT Open Overall and Super GT Manufacturers', Team and Drivers' crowns. In 2013 the car repeated its successes, winning the
FIA World Endurance Championship GTE Manufacturers', GTE PRO Team, GTE Drivers' and GTE AM Team Titles, the
European Le Mans Series GTE Team and Drivers' honours, the
Asian Le Mans Series GTE Team and Drivers' crowns and the
International GT Open Overall and Super GT Manufacturers' and Drivers' Titles. In 2014 the 458 Italia GT2 achieved, for the third straight year, the
FIA World Endurance Championship GTE Manufacturers' and GTE PRO Team honours, as well as, for the second time in a row, the GTE Drivers' crown (which had been instituted in 2013). For the fourth time the car also clinched the
European Le Mans Series GTE Team and Drivers' Titles, but it didn't take part in the
International GT Open and
Asian Le Mans Series Championships (the 458 Italia GT3 raced in both these series that year). In 2015, the Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 cars competed in the
FIA World Endurance Championship,
European Le Mans Series and
Tudor United SportsCar Championship. The car was replaced for the 2016 season by the
Ferrari 488 GTE.
458 Italia GT3 Ferrari also unveiled a
GT3 version of the Ferrari 458 Italia in 2011, built as well by Michelotto. The car is slightly lighter and more powerful than the GTE version, generating a power output closer to and has a red-line of 9,000 rpm. The engine thus performs more similarly to that of the road car than the GTE version. The aerodynamics of the car are also slightly different due to different aero regulations. The roll-cage is also modified due to stricter safety regulations. The Grand-Am version lacks traction control and ABS. The car debuted at the
2012 24 Hours of Daytona. AimAutosport.com is the first team to win with the new 458 Italia Grand-Am spec. On 9 Sept. 2012, drivers Jeff Segal and Emil Assentato finished second at Laguna Seca and clinched the Grand-Am Rolex GT championship. == Awards ==