Okay so now that the first shafts of sunlight break through the grey winter weather I decided to visit my Ferrari dealership to see what they have and whats new.
After a short talk the dealer told me to drive a few meters with the 458 to check it out.
Totally reluctant I let myself talk into a short ride
After the first few meters I realized that this is not just by the looks a huge improvement versus the F430. The car has a lot of power and the 7-gear double-clutch gearbox works excellent, without being boring or unemotional as the Porsche PDK has been criticised.
The felt "punch in the back" like with the F1-gearbox is still there, a bit softer, it is still a lot of fun although the double-cluch. It works perfectly and it is still emotional and fun. Thats what really impressed me.
Especially the interior is a huge progress. On two LCD screens the driver is being informed about almost as much as the driver of a Formula 1 race car.
Temperature of the tires, brake discs, engine... Speedo on the right LCD Screen or digital on the left, GPS Navigation and a lot more. Kudos to Ferrari, in contrast to that the interior of my Scuderia is nearly ancient.
Acceleration from 200 kmh is better than with the Scuderia. We cracked the 300 kmh pretty fast as you can see...
Between 0-200 kmh Scuderia and 458 are almost equally fast I would say.
If I switch from the Scuderia to the 458 depends on several things. First of all is the price I can get a 458 and second the price that I can sell my Scuderia for. Because there is very high demand for the 458 currently I dont think I will be able to find a bargain, so I dont think I will switch in the near future.
But the Scuderia is almost equally fast than the 458 and its definitely the more extreme car. Also I am not that old, so I dont put my priority on the everyday-driver ability of those two cars (where the 458 would be the better choice apparently) and I am still very happy with my Scuderia.
Here is a short video of the testdrive:
http://www.vimeo.com/10058059