Fortis

he wanted to wait aslong as possible so that the memory could be as distant as possible.. This way his over exuberance for the car doesnt show through as much..

he wanted to wait aslong as possible so that the memory could be as distant as possible.. This way his over exuberance for the car doesnt show through as much..

Something tells me you'll be disappointed.

 

Something tells me you'll be disappointed.

Dude.. he cant even put into words how much he liked it..

Looking forward to reading this, hope things quiet down enough for you to get a chance to post it soonish

Looking forward to reading this, hope things quiet down enough for you to get a chance to post it soonish

 

Hey the fact that things aren't quiet is a good thing because that's how I make my $$$

 

I will write the story this weekend I promise, now I am under pressure to explain myself I can't just say that it is crap and be over and done with it, thank you everyone

Hey the fact that things aren't quiet is a good thing because that's how I make my $$$

 

I will write the story this weekend I promise, now I am under pressure to explain myself I can't just say that it is crap and be over and done with it, thank you everyone

So basicly what you are saying is that for the past 2 weeks you have been pleading with the ferrari dealer to take your Gallardo in on trade and they refused?

So basicly what you are saying is that for the past 2 weeks you have been pleading with the ferrari dealer to take your Gallardo in on trade and they refused?

 

You must have a crystal ball

 

You can blame the delay on a PITA large US company I am dealing with for the past three weeks, they are renting from me but they are the ones that want to know what I had for breakfast, lunch and dinner in the last 5 years

 

 

You must have a crystal ball

 

You can blame the delay on a PITA large US company I am dealing with for the past three weeks, they are renting from me but they are the ones that want to know what I had for breakfast, lunch and dinner in the last 5 years

2 of them

2 of them

 

I knew that was coming

 

No wonder you don't "want" kids

I knew that was coming

 

No wonder you don't "want" kids

Finally I managed to find a quiet weekend and write the much talked about 458 review.

I didn’t think it was a very big deal I thought I could get away with just saying I hate it and move on now I feel I am under pressure to come up with something more detailed

 

Those with a very short attention span or ADD should click back now !

 

My review is based on spending more than an hour with the car and it will be a comparison between the 458 and the 570SL.

The relatively short time I spent with the car was sufficient for me to form an opinion, the car I drove belongs to one of our members, thank you Scud sorry Scud

 

Scud’s car is pearl yellow, he lowered the car and I believe he used spacers to slightly bring the wheels out to fill the wheel arches, the stance was changed and it looks a lot better than some of the other’s I’ve seen.

I think he’s currently waiting for a Tubi.

Scud is a true car nut and his collection is absolutely incredible very down to earth and an awesome guy to hang out with but since he’s a very private guy I will not go into further details about him or his collection.

Nevertheless, being aware of my 458 comments on LP he threw me the keys of his 458.

 

Scud gave me free rein so let's get down to business

 

Looks wise the car does nothing for me, I’ve tried so hard to find some design elements I like about the car but I can’t find anything.

There are few mods available out there that make the car almost bearable for me but in stock form I honestly think it is the worse looking sports car currently on the market, possibly soon to be outclassed by the upcoming MP4 which looks like it was designed by Andrea Bocelli, I know the folks at McLaren blame it on the wind but I don't really believe them.

The 458 has a bunch of conflicting lines, angles and curves, there is little to no flow, it’s like 4 designers were locked in 4 separate rooms and given the task of designing individual sections of the car then got together in room number 5 to put it all together.

The only color I can stomach is black I am guessing because it hides a lot of the incoherent design line, obviously you can always improve the looks of a car, wheels, bodykit, carbon accents trim here and there, lowering it etc everything is possible so there could be some hope for the 458.

 

The interior:

 

The first reaction I had when I got in the car was to put my hands up in the air and say what the hell??

I had no idea what to push or do next.

The instrument cluster and the multitude of buttons and switches surrounding the steering wheel gave me an instant headache, in their quest of a minimalist layout they’ve over complicated it, there is no fluidity not intuitive enough, things aren’t where they supposed to be!!!

I am sure you would get used to it but it could take weeks or perhaps months.

How do I adjust the AC fan speed, temp etc. where is the indicator, windscreen wipers, stereo was on I wanted to turn the volume down. I needed serious help.

My brother was in the car with me and I used him as a remote control to search for switches and functions.

Too complicated, way too complicated for a sports car, UNNECESSARY came to mind, I got a headache trying to get accustomed with and work out where everything was.

Scud pushed few buttons for me and said: "Drive it in this mode and don’t touch anything else!" I felt a lot better but still confused.

 

Scud’s car has the optional sports seats, I liked the seats very much mostly because of the extra padding when compared to the 570 bucket seats.

I’ve sat on more comfortable park benches than the 570 seats but since 570 is a raw sports car that’s how I expect the seats to feel like

 

The other thing I didn’t like was the sitting position, it feels like you are siting too high, the dashboard sits too low you don’t get the sink in wrap around cockpit feel you get when you sit in the 570, a weird way of describing it is that it feels like you step up in the 458 but step down in the 570.

 

There were few things in the interior that could've been better, here the 458 starts at $600k before options for that amount of money I'd expect it to be flawless but it wasn't, I know I am nitpicking I can't help it I am a perfectionist

I know they are minor things but the driver’s door trim you could just about stick your finger in between the underside of the top part of the trim and the flat centre part, the driver’s seat wouldn’t lock into position it was slightly shifting backwards and forwards, on the passenger side footwell there is a flap in the floor that I assume covers the ECU or some electronic modules, the damn flap wouldn’t stay shut under acceleration, my brother tried to lock it but no luck so he ended up putting his foot over it to keep it shut.

All minor repairable things but disappointing in a brand new Ferrari.

I remember experiencing all sorts of similar quirky things with my first and only Ferrari encounter, a red F355, which by the way after I sold it ended up being the protagonist of an evening TV news show, burning in the middle of the city under a bridge in peak hour traffic creating chaos for the commuters.

 

Scud unconvincingly assured me his 458 will not burn but if it does I must let it go about its burning business and run as fast and as far as possible.

 

The 458 is a nice car to drive, It certainly feels like a "new" tech car but way to complicated and sophisticated for my liking.

The star of the show is the double clutch, the transmission is very smooth and fast, similar with the double clutch I have in my Audi.

One thing I did notice about the transmission when taking off in first gear I felt a slight hesitation, bogging before the car engages, the transmission from gear to gear is seamless.

The best part of the car is certainly the transmission, you take that gearbox out and what you will be left with is an ugly IMO over engineered V8 Ferrari.

The exhaust sounded surprisingly good, specially in the higher RPM the tone is definitely deeper I guess something they learned from Lambo.

I did not have a lot of room to seriously step on it also it is Scud’s car and I wouldn’t trash it but I did get up it few times.

 

The car definitely feels light, maybe because I’ve mainly been driving AWD cars the 458 felt quite weird to me, the nose felt floaty, bouncy.

I certainly felt the lack of weight over the front axle, specially around corners, quite unsettling, perhaps because I am not used to it but it certainly doesn’t have the planted feeling you get in the 570.

The 570 is an animal around corners it slightly understeers but once you learn its habits you feel like Superman very easy car to drive fast.

 

I will not say the 458 is a bad car because it isn’t having said that it is far from being my favourite car. Would I buy one? The answer is no, I wouldn't.

It isn’t the car for me, I certainly would never buy one as my only sports car. I think same goes for most of the Lambo owners that own a 458, they either own both Lambo and Ferrari or owned a number of Lambos and now they are trying a Ferrari until Lambo refreshes their line-up.

 

I can see why some people like the car, I am talking about other people than the Ferrari fanatics, the fanatics swallow everything Ferrari throws at them so you can not base your decisions on them.

 

The 458 is very easy to drive but uneventful and sterile, it has no personality, it feels way more German than Lambo does, it’s very similar to an R8 but with “racing heritage” sprinkled on top, a very usable sports car but to me it feels like a watered down one.

I feel Ferrari compromised, they designed and engineered the 458 in order to turn it into a boulevard cruiser and a grocery getter, that's not what a sports car should stand for, hopefully they will be able to fix it with the Challenge car.

 

The 458 is trying to be too many things at once, not "savage" enough at high-speed, too soft and predictable at cruising speed, too usable, not a sports car, feels like a GT.

 

A true Lambo fan would never be able to like the 458 because it is almost the opposite of a Lambo.

 

I like my sports cars obnoxious, uncompromising, noisy, space shuttle looking, hard to park, crowd gathering, PITA!

 

When I jumped out of the 458 and back in the 570 I felt in my element right away.

I started laughing like possessed while banging through the gears, Scud's neighbours definitely hate me

The ancient (by some people standards) e-gear is the closest you will ever get to a manual box “feel”, no wonder Lambo wants to retain the feeling with the Aventador gearbox, whomever doesn’t get that in my opinion isn’t a true gear head, the noise the 570 makes is intoxicating, the feeling you get when you hit a corner is incomparable.

I wish they would shave another 200 kg off the car, maybe the carbon tub in the Gallardo replacement will be able to achieve that, wishful thinking? One can only hope and pray.

 

Pussified sports cars aren’t my thing, sorry!

 

The 458 can not hold a candle to a 570, yes the 458 feels newer but does that matter? Does that necessarily mean it is better, depends on what you like, to me it does not matter, there is no car I like more that the 570, it's raw, it looks insane, it’s fast, it handles and brakes insanely, not a lot of electronic aids and gadgetry.

 

Exactly what the doctor ordered!

 

 

 

Few analogies:

 

For the building fans out there:

 

The difference between a 458 and a 570,

if you had to hang a painting in the living room, the 458 would use those fancy environmentally friendly adhesive strips from your local hardware store, the 570 would show up with a big ass nail a sledgehammer and a crazy grin on its face.

 

For the sports fans:

 

(570) American football V (458) Ping Pong

 

For the music fans:

 

(570) AC/DC V (458) I was going to say Rebecca Black but I think Christina Aguilera is more appropriate.

 

For the lovers out there:

 

The 458 is the freak girlfriend that always knows where you are, what you do, what you should wear, asks you to scrub up because you can't be looking like a bum when you meet her parents.

The 570 is the porn star that you dream of while your girlfriend is talking your ears off.

Fellippe you wanted a review, grab yourself a cup of coffee

 

http://www.lambopower.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=55345

I can see fortis still love the lambo

 

I haven't driven the 458, but thanks for confirming my feelings and assumptions about the car!

 

The best part of the car is certainly the transmission, you take that gearbox out and what you will be left with is an ugly IMO over engineered V8 Ferrari.

So the best part of the car is the one thing not made by Ferrari

Excellent review, very thorough.

 

Tough to fall in love with the versatility of that setup in just an hour Fortis, even the turn signal buttons are a mess for first-timers. But scud (as well as Allan) can tell you that with familiarity you'd probably begin to enjoy the additional options their system provides.

 

Funny that it felt floaty and less stable in the front, but not surprising going from AWD to RWD. Another area where more time in the car would likely have you reporting a more positive experience.

 

Your positive transmission comments are worrisome, because we still don't know what the Aventador's unit will be like. If it winds up feeling archaic next to the unit in the 458/599-replacement, it's a mistake on the factory's part. Just tough to argue with the speed and smoothness of dual-clutch, although they do have to find a way to engineer in some whiplash for the hardcore guys.

 

Interesting that you felt it bogged from a stop, that hasn't been the experience of other owners on the forum.

 

As for the "womanizing" of the entry-level Ferrari, that is of course all DiMontezemolo. It's his legacy for the marque, along with many other pros and cons.

 

Under his reign the V8 cars have been enjoyed by women as much as men (see Allan's wife's comments, sigh), and things like luggage space, softness of the ride, and overall luxury has been prioritized under his watch.

 

Thankfully they added some testosterone to the CS and Scuderia variants to get back in touch with the old-school feel of the cars, and hopefully the 458-weekend-warrior version will follow suit.

 

The looks, well...I was fooling around next to a black one on the 91 freeway Sunday, new 458 from F of Newport Beach, and I just can't fall in love with it. It really is a feminine look, way too soft and curvy for me. Even in black it was tough to love, but I do like the ADV car that's lowered and butched out a bit.

 

I think it's fair to say that these are two different flavors of ice cream. One is not "better" than the other, despite the comments to the contrary by fans in both camps. They are chocolate and vanilla, and which is preferrable is a matter of preference...not quality or capability.

 

Great write up, thanks to you and scud for making it happen.

.........Few analogies:

 

For the building fans out there:

 

The difference between a 458 and a 570,

if you had to hang a painting in the living room, the 458 would use those fancy environmentally friendly adhesive strips from your local hardware store, the 570 would show up with a big ass nail a sledgehammer and a crazy grin on its face............

 

Great write up and review. And the line above made me laugh so hard, an analogy I can actually picture

Great write up and review. And the line above made me laugh so hard, an analogy I can actually picture

 

Yu must be in the construction industry

Yu must be in the construction industry

 

Yup, many years

Your positive transmission comments are worrisome, because we still don't know what the Aventador's unit will be like. If it winds up feeling archaic next to the unit in the 458/599-replacement, it's a mistake on the factory's part. Just tough to argue with the speed and smoothness of dual-clutch, although they do have to find a way to engineer in some whiplash for the hardcore guys.

 

Interesting that you felt it bogged from a stop, that hasn't been the experience of other owners on the forum.

 

Mako I wouldn't be worried about the transmission in the Aventador, there is no doubt a double clutch tranny is very good and I like it but I don't like it for the Lambo if that makes sense.

I think what Lambo needs is a more refined single clutch, something that will give us smoother low-speed gear change but retains the bang in corsa mode hopefully the Aventador transmission will give us that.

 

In relation to the "bogging" of the 458's double clutch I only noticed it because I looked for it, possibly the average driver will not notice it unless they pay attention, the intensity of the "bogging" feeling that you get depends on the pressure you apply to the accelerator pedal, the reason I looked for it is because the double clutch in my Audi behaves in a similar manner.

 

It isn't a problem I think that's the way they all are.

 

As you said they are like two different flavours of ice cream they both good but different, one has strawberries in it and the other Jack Daniels

 

Here you go an analogy for all the alcoholics out there.

 

thats the longest wall of text i've read this year...lol

 

very good writeup..thanks for your time...and i agree with you..

 

 

is scud's pearl yellow 458 the 60k option? overkill!

 

now we need pics!! of your car aswell..

Soo basically what you are saying is that you are blind, and too dumb to figure out a few buttons? anyways....I've spent a little bit of time in gallardos and now the fcar. Visuals are subjective, the gallardo looks great to me, but old and dated now. Could just be me as I've had them now since 2006, but judging by peoples reactions around here,it's not just me. Mechanicly there is no comparison, my car does not hesitate, does not feel floaty and feels far more surefooted than any gallardo I've driven, including the 570. The brakes,steering feel and transmission are on a whole new level. When it comes to build quality I will give the lambo the lead. It seems as if over time the lambo would hold together better, the interior is more durable, the paintwork better etc but in my case I don't care as I won't have the car long enough for it to fall apart. How about vboxing your 570?

Nice review, Fortis. I like all your analogies.

 

 

Good and interesting review Fortis. Will move this to the review section after a few days.

 

Whose 570 did you hop back into? That is the part I was confused about

 

 

Nice writeup Fortis.