Ferrari 458

[Dare]

I like it



http://editorial.autos.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1081818&icid=autos_0709017&GT1=22017

[cosworth151]

I really like the look of the car, too!

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20090728/CARNEWS/907289997

[Neil.P]

Oh yeah, that's a good one that is

Neil.P

[david1275]

Some weird design features but I'm more than sure they will grow on me. The technical bits all sound good. All in all another work of art from Ferrari.

I must get my order placed

[Ian]

Even for a non Ferrari lover like me it looks pretty good.

[SennaMan]

well, we should all like it as it is a rip-off of the HONDA HSC prototype design and I wonder if HONDA will sue pininfarina?

or is it FERRARI getting revenge for the HONDA NSX design?

[John S]

I wasn't aware of the Honda HSC Sennaman but having viewed the Honda I see what you mean. For anyone else to make their own mind up go to this link, when the page loads you need to scroll down to get to the pics.

http://thehondaportal.blogspot.com/2008/11/visiting-honda-hsc.html

[cosworth151]

Other than basic, "Coke bottle" shape, which is rather generic to many current cars of the class, I don't see it. My first thought when I saw it was that it looked like a modern version of the Ferrari 208/308/328 series.

[david1275]

I agree Cos don't see it myself. How can you compare the Ferrari with just another uninspiring Jap mobile, even if it is a hot Honda. I know which one I will be dreaming about.

[Dare]

A Honda is just a car but a Ferrari is a
masterpiece of automotive art

[lkjohnson1950]

I can see the similarities, but at this point the Honda will probably never be built. The Ferrari is a done deal.

Lonny

[Scott]

 I agree Lonny, and you've got to agree that the Ferrari has that refined look about it while the Honda appears to need a lot of developement to have a finished look about it.

[SennaMan]

A Honda is just a car but a Ferrari is a
masterpiece of automotive art

agreed Dare but never forget HONDA was able to make an all-aluminium production road car [NSX] before any other manufacturer, including FERRARI which only managed to do that with the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti of 2004 - some 14 years later.

The point being a Japanese upstart HONDA outperformed the much vaunted technical capabilities of established makers like FERRARI, LAMBORGHINI, MERCEDES, PORSCHE, all of which could not match HONDA's feat as they did not have the expertise nor the will to achieve it!

In fact I think they have never forgiven HONDA for showing them up.

At the time,I remember the motoring press being gobsmacked by the leading edge engineering design and the aesthetics of the all-aluminium FORGED suspension components for example.

and, on top of that, the NSX had the reliability of their CIVIC purposely engineered into it at a time (1990) when opening up a FERRARI 328/348 full bore - the car HONDA targeted with the NSX -  often resulted in an immediate mechanical failure.

here is an extract from the WIKIPEDIA NSX article:

Upon its release in 1990, the NSX was a design concept ahead of its time. At 1,170 mm (46 in) in height (only 141.3 mm (5.56 in) taller than the legendary Ford GT40), the car showcased Honda's technology. The Japanese car maker's race track innovations and competitive history were further exemplified on the road by the NSX's ultra-rigid, ultra-light all aluminum monocoque chassis, all aluminum front and rear double wishbone suspension with forged control arms connected to forged alloy wheels boasting the world's first production car engine with titanium connecting rods, forged pistons and ultra high-revving capabilities — the redline was at a lofty 8,000 rpm - all traits usually associated with track and race engineered motor cars.

Aside from its unique 23-step paint process, including an aircraft type chromate coating designed for chemically protecting the aluminum bodywork and a waterborne paint for the base coat to achieve a clearer, more vivid top color and a smoother surface finish, today the NSX is still considered by owners of the marque as one of the most reliable exotic cars ever manufactured with many examples exceeding 100,000 miles (160,000 km) without serious notable reliability issues or having suffered manufacturer recalls.

The car's strong chassis rigidity and cornering/handling capabilities were the results of Ayrton Senna's direct input with NSX's chief engineers while testing the NSX prototype car at Honda's Suzuka Circuit during its final development stages.[5] The NSX was initially assembled at the purpose-built Takanezawa R&D Plant in Tochigi from 1989 to early 2004, when it was moved to Suzuka Plant for the remainder of its production life. The cars were assembled by approximately 200 of Honda's best and most experienced personnel, a team of hand-picked staff employed from various other Honda facilities to run the NSX operation. After studying their main competitors such as Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche, Honda engineers designed the NSX in search of the perfect balance between usable power and reliability and thus produced a powerful naturally aspirated VTEC engine suitable for the extreme demands of both road and track.

to read the article please goto:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_NSX


i am convinced history will afford the NSX an accolade of being one of the "watershed" designs in the evolution of car production and design and I regret they did not proceed to produce the HSC but whose essential body design lives on with the FERRARI 458.

[SennaMan]

an interesting footnote on the HONDA NSX, also from the WIKIPEDIA article[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_NSX:

Legacy of the NSX

Honda's breakthrough engineering in the NSX was a major contributor to the design of the McLaren F1 as mentioned in an interview with McLaren F1 designer Gordon Murray (translated from original Japanese into English).[16]

"The moment I drove the NSX, all the benchmark cars—Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini—I had been using as references in the development of my car vanished from my mind. Of course the car we would create, the McLaren F1, needed to be faster than the NSX, but the NSX's ride quality and handling would become our new design target." The NSX was marketed as the first "Everyday Supercar" thanks in part to its ease of use, quality and reliability.

Murray himself remained an NSX owner for 7 years.