The Ferrari 458 Italia (Type F142) is a mid-engine sports car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari. The 458 replaced the F430, and was first officially unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. It was succeeded by the 488 GTB (Gran Turismo Berlinetta), which was unveiled at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show.

In Ferrari’s first official announcement of the car, the 458 was described as the successor to the F430 but arising from an entirely new design, incorporating technologies developed from the company’s experience in Formula One.

The 458 is powered by a 4,497 cc (4.5 L; 274.4 cu in) engine of the “Ferrari/Maserati” F136 V8 family, generating a power output of 570 PS (419 kW; 562 hp) at 9,000 rpm (redline) and 540 Nm (398 lbft) of torque at 6,000 rpm with 80% torque available at 3,250 rpm. The engine features direct fuel injection, which is a first for Ferrari mid-engine setups in its road cars.

The only transmission available on the 458 is a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox by Getrag, in a different state of tune shared with the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. There is no traditional manual option, making this the fourth road-car after the Enzo, Challenge Stradale and 430 Scuderia not to be offered with Ferrari’s classic gated manual. It is the first mainstream model to not be offered with a manual transmission.

The 458 Speciale was unveiled in 2013 at the Frankfurt Motor Show as the high performance variant of the 458 Italia. Distinctions of the Speciale over the standard 458 Italia are the forged wheels, vented bonnet, finned side sills, a taller rear spoiler and redesigned bumpers, which include active aerodynamics designed by Ferrari Styling Centre in cooperation with Pininfarina; front and rear movable flaps balance downforce and cut drag at speed. The engine was revised, with power increased to 605 PS (445 kW; 597 hp) at 9,000 rpm and 540 Nm (398 lbft) of torque at 6,000 rpm. Electronic systems were updated too and side slip angle control (SSC) was introduced to improve car control on the limit. SSC performs instant-to-instant analysis of the car’s side-slip, comparing it with the target value and then optimising both torque management (via integration with F1-Trac traction control) and torque distribution between the two wheels (via integration with the E-Diff electronic differential]). The Speciale accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.0 seconds, 0200 km/h (120 mph) in 9.1 seconds. Ferrari declared a Fiorano test track lap time of 1:23.5, only 0.5 seconds slower than the F12 berlinetta. Lateral acceleration now reaches 1.33 g.