The Prancing Horse is showing us the motorsport version of the 458 Italia during a test session at the Vallelunga race track in Italy.
The vehicle is still receiving its last modifications, with two drivers testing it and offering feedback in terms of Ferrari engines. We are talking about Maurizio Mediani (Italy) and Jaime Melo (Argentina), who have spent two days on the aforementioned track.
Mediani described the race car as being is “very quick and extremely good fun.”
„Melo, just back from the fifth round of the American Le Mans Series, in which he races a F430 GT2 run by Team Risi Competizione, highlighted how much the driving experience is enhanced by the electronics systems operated with the now classic manettino on the steering wheel, a first for a car used in the Ferrari one-make series,” stated the press release.
“I am sure that Prancing Horse competition owners will be very pleased with this car,” Melo said before leaving the track to prepare for the following round of the ALMS ( August 7, at the Mid Ohio circuit).
The Challenge version of the 458 uses the same 4.5 liter V8 delivering 570 hp, but comes with a multitude of weight-saving measures, such as carbon fiber parts and lexan windows. It also offers a tweaked gearbox and specific racing modifications.
According to Ferrari, the 458 Challenge beats the F430 Challenge (its predecessor) on the Fiorano test rack by 2 seconds, with a time of 1 minute and 16.5 seconds.
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