Ferrari has transferred even more of its Grand Prix winning Formula One technology into its latest two-seater super-sportscar, the 458 Italia, in a bid to keep it ahead of rivals like Lamborghini’s Gallardo Balboni and the McLaren MP4-12C due in 2011. So how have they done?

Russell Bray went to Ferrari’s home town to try the new car on the road and the test track where Ferrari develops its race and road cars.

Just as hot hatches have got faster over the years, Ferraris too have become even more furious. So it’s not without a little anxiety that you flip the door catch and slide into the 458’s body-hugging seat.

After all there’s a new 4.5-litre V8 engine sitting behind you ready to force 562bhp – more than three times the power of a Mini Cooper S – through the back wheels. Especially when you’ve been warned it’s wet on the hills.

Twist the ignition key, thumb the ‘Start’ button on the steering wheel and the engine springs to life and sounds… remarkably quiet.

The 458 is only offered with a Getrag seven-speed dual clutch gearbox which works either as a full automatic or at the behest of the driver by pulling paddles behind the steering wheel. There is no manual option.

With no clutch pedal there’s no danger of an embarrassing stall, but I fumble the turn indicators as I pull out because Ferrari has moved them on to the steering wheel.

It’s the most complicated wheel fitted in a road Ferrari, though there is nothing like the 24 buttons and switches of its F1 cars.

Fiorano track test

Using a few thousand revs to drive through the tunnel at Ferrari’s famous Fiorano track, right in the centre of town, all the three exhausts are in use and it’s definitely Ferrari music.

There’s more push from lower revs than you have in an F430, so you can often tackle bends a gear higher with no lack of pace which makes for more relaxed progress.

One of the 458’s switches, the ‘Manettino’ as Ferrari calls it, offers the latest thinking for the car’s amazingly complex electronics and decides how much the stability and traction systems and electronic differential ‘talk’ to each other if you use the enormous power.

Somewhat oddly ‘Race’ is our recommended setting for the road rather the ‘Sport’. It allows the car to move about a bit more, which means the tail can edge out, before the systems start to help the driver. I think that means they trust us, a bit.

For track use you can turn everything off – except the anti-lock brakes – so it’s down to your skill to stop the car spinning if you overdo the power and fail to counter-steer fast enough and accurately enough.

Race

Ride comfort is exceptionally compliant, even in ‘race’, and if the road surface is rougher you can prod another steering wheel button with a shock absorber symbol on it. This lets you keep the razor-sharp reaction to the accelerator pedal but with more absorptive suspension.

Around town the 458 is docile and practical; a decent-sized front luggage bin is complemented by a shelf for coats and squashy bags behind the seats.

At only two turns lock-to-lock the steering is quick without being nervous but you need discipline to keep your hands close to the textbook ten-to-two position to get the best out of it.

The road is clear now, with some fast sweepers and it’s dry, so mashing the accelerator to the floor it’s difficult not to whoop with shock.

The fantastic engine screams round to 9,000rpm and the noise behind my head is amazing. It sounds like a Ferrari F1 car but with the volume turned down to ten.

They’ll hear you coming

Click the right-hand ‘up’ paddle and you’re in another gear quicker than you can blink as the relentless acceleration and noise continues. Boy, are the police going to hear you coming in this thing!

Use the launch control system and 0-62mph takes a claimed 3.4s, while top speed is 202mph. Numbers you are more likely to see are 14mpg round town and 19mpg on a run.

The traditional large and circular tail-lights are there, but much of the 458’s shape is down to aerodynamics – the wings in the front grille even change shape at speed to reduce drag – meaning it looks great from some angles and slightly odd from others.

Form follows function and that’s fair enough with Ferrari’s race history where speed is what matters.

Air-extraction holes under the front wheel arches, combined with a new front suspension design and bigger wheels, all help to reduce lift. As a result the 458 has more front-end grip than it has a right to, given this is a mid-engined car with 58% of its weight on the back wheels.

The 458 can still push wide at the front in tight corners but that makes it safe and warns the driver when front tyre grip is running out.

Ceramic brakes

The ceramic brakes are stunning – Ferrari claim the 458 can stop from 125mph in 128 metres (422ft) – and approaching a hairpin you only have to pull back on the paddle and the gearbox will shoot down as many gears as necessary to the appropriate one.

The days, it seems, of needing driver skill to match gears and work that chromed gear lever in its characterful, exposed metal gate have gone. I know this is quicker and means you cannot make a mistake, but for me it also removes some of the pleasure of driving.

Compared to the brilliant 430 Scuderia, the 458 feels next generation. And with its superior power it takes exactly the same time round Fiorano in the hands of Ferrari test drivers despite the more race-orientated tyres of the Scud.

The 458 is less raw and more refined but if you want to be a track day hero the Scud is still the weapon of choice. And with both the question you have to ask is: Do you want to do the driving or let the computers take care of it?

There is no question, though, that the 458 Italia sets the new benchmark for the class.

Key facts

Model tested: Ferrari 458 Italia
On the road price: £160,000 (estimated)
Price range: £160,000 plus options (buying new)
Date tested: November 2009
Road tester: Russell Bray