To those who believed that Pininfarina designers had lost the sharpest points on their finely honed electronic pencils with their recent Ferrari designs, the all-new 458 Italia brings the brand and the Italian design house back up to lofty, visually arresting heights.
The successor to the very popular and much-admired mid-engine F430 will make its debut at the Frankfurt auto show in September, but Ferrari released the first official photos and details of the two-seat exotic car this week.
The 458 Italia shares a close visual link with the legendary Ferrari Enzo super-car, with headlights that run up high into its fenders, and rounded rear muscular haunches that organically grow out from the larger and more-powerful 4.5-litre V-8 engine that's reflected in the car's name.
Yet the 458 Italia also includes unique aerodynamic and stylistic flourishes that underscore the complete break this car represents from its predecessor, including active aerodynamic winglets integrated into the front air intakes that provide downforce, but help cover the openings at speed to cut drag.
The rear view also takes a radical turn, with a centrally mounted, three-tip exhaust pipe integrated into the bodywork just below the rear license plate. That should be the only license plate allowed on this car: tacking a front plate on to the calf-height nose of this rolling automotive artwork should be criminal.
Nestled behind the driver, that direct-injected 4.5-litre V-8 produces 570 hp at a stratospherically high 9,000 rpm, which Ferrari says is the highest output per litre of any road-going car in its history, at an incredible 127 hp per litre.
And there's even a fair amount of torque too, at 398 lb-ft, 80 per cent of which is available from 3,250 rpm, although it does peak at a rather high 6000 rpm.
All of this power will get to the ground through a seven-speed dual-clutch paddle shift transmission, similar to the one in the Ferrari California hardtop convertible. The results of all this Formula One-inspired engineering: 0-100 km/h in under 3.4 seconds, and a top speed "in excess of 325 km/h," according to Ferrari.
Fuel consumption is also better than it was with the smaller engine, but at an overall average of 13.7 litres/100 km, it will still drink most cars under the table, especially if playing with that 9k rev limit.
Inside, Ferrari is promising a similarly radical approach, with what it says is a new kind of steering wheel and dashboard that incorporates more cues from its F1 race cars, but has withheld details and photos of the layout for now.
Ottawa still studying cash for clunkers
The U.S. government has recently published the rules for its "cash for clunkers" program, which provides a rebate of up to $4,500 (U.S.)for trading in older cars, while Mexico has launched a similar program, making Canada the only country in North America to not offer a serious government cash incentive for trading up to a new car.
Federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice told CBC Newsworld recently that the Canadian government is considering such a program, given that the current one - which offers discounted car sharing memberships, a bicycle, public transit passes or $300 cash - has not retired nearly as many vehicles as hoped. He had said earlier this month that he'd study the current Retire-Your-Ride program, and announce changes if necessary by early September.
Prentice told the news channel that any enriched program would be available in the fall, and would use unused funds already allocated to the current program, which was projected to cost $92-million (Canadian) and run until March 31, 2011.
However, the funds would likely be used up much quicker with a program closer to the American one, which has been allocated $1-billion (U.S.) and is set to expire in November.
The U.S. program was intended to provide the industry and consumers a short-term economic as well as environmental boost with rules heavily geared towards the replacement of thirsty vehicles in particular, while Mexico's rebate of up to $1,100 (U.S.) is only eligible for vehicles built in the country.
BMW bicycles available at Fairmont hotels
Those planning summer travel in the country may be interested to know that BMW has made special BMW Cruise Bikes (bicycles) available to borrow at Fairmont hotels across the continent, including adult and child-sized ones.
Available since this spring, the bikes can be lent out at no charge to guests at any Fairmont across the country, and promise a comfortable ride thanks to a Suntour suspension system and fast-acting integrated brakes - handy for those long trails through the Rockies.
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