The question is: Which will ultimately make greatest impact on your motoring life in the future?
Brute power, beautiful lines and, well, just that badge. Maranello's newest creation, the 458 Italia, is the Lotto winning fantasy with obvious potential to rock anyone's world.
But in regard to redefining global driving habits ... well, that's ultimately a role better suited to the other shown here, a plug and play battery box that rolled out in Yokohama, Japan, just yesterday.
Styling-wise, the Leaf doesn't look all that exciting, but in terms of sophistication it'll rattle any science lab rat's beakers - because this production-poised five-seater is Nissan's first all-electric car.
Okay, I can sense your lack of immediate excitement, but stay with me.
In case you'd forgotten, the world is still running out of oil - an issue that the 458 is hardly going to remedy - so, like it or not, cars like the Leaf have to figure in our future.
The real breakthrough represented by Leaf isn't so much its lithium-ion battery technology that tucks 48 cells under the seats and floor, its perky performance (0-100kmh in under 120 seconds, 140kmh top speed) from a powertrain developing 80kW/280Nm or even its reasonably good 160km range.
It's the cost of ownership. Electric cars have been blighted by high costs, and employing lithium ion battery tech - a must-have to achieve decent range and performance - only makes a bad situation so much worse.
This is why, for instance, the i-MiEV - the all-electric version of the $18,000 petrol Mitsubishi i-Car - is projected to be a $80,000-plus car here when/if it lands next year.
But Nissan, Japan's No.3 car brand, reckons the Leaf will be about the same price as the Tiida hatchback, which in New Zealand prices from $30,600 to $33,350.
Nissan New Zealand was asked to comment on this and other issues pertinent to our market. They declined.
How can the Leaf be so cheap? Nissan Japan has hinted its competitive advantage lies in its ability to use manganese to make the positive electrodes of its cells, rather than cobalt or nickel. As a result, they can be made much more cheaply than rival batteries.
Also, it seems the battery pack will be leased by the end user; it will not be sold along with the car.
Though it's set to go on sale in Japan, the United States and Europe next year, mass production for fully global dissemination doesn't start until 2012, which is potentially when Kiwis will see it as a retail opportunity. But we're only speculating.
More conjecture here: There's probably potential for Nissan NZ to follow Mitsubishi's i-MiEV example and get a couple in early for a flag-waving 'look what we've done' exercise, since the initial production schedule is ambitious.
Next year Nissan intends to knock out 50,000 Leafs from the Oppama plant in Yokohama, including export models. That's five times the initial production target for i-MiEV. Moreover, Nissan's output will double by 2012.
The Leaf was designed in Japan, and the platform is all-new. Nissan charging the car takes eight hours from a 240v supply, and 16 hours from a 110v socket. From a 400v three-phase charging station, an 80 percent charge can be carried out in just 15 minutes.
It is something of a global effort. Nissan shares the battery design with its alliance partner Renault as part of a cost-cutting effort and manufacturing duties will be shared beyond Japan. Nissan's car plant in Sunderland, England, has been cited as a battery production centre.
The intent was to make the Leaf look just like any ordinary car - er, they've done that - to encourage acceptance by everyday motorists. The most obvious giveaway that it's a bit different is the recharging port, positioned behind a cantilevered flap in the front.
That why proponents of hybrids, such as market-leader Toyota - which is showing off its latest Prius to New Zealand journalists today - argue that their petrol-electric technology is the better solution, at least for the next two decades.
Nissan has not followed Toyota and Honda into the hybrid business, but chief executive Carlos Ghosn argues it doesn't need to. He says the Leaf is already more cost-effective, arguing: "The monthly cost of the battery, plus the electric charge, will be less than the cost of gasoline."
He also insists the Leaf will not be a niche-market vehicle and believes Leaf is a better solution to meeting the global trend toward implementation of increasingly tougher emissions regulations, These are expected to increase market share of electric cars to five percent. Hybrid models only make up about two percent of the world car market now, he said.
In one way, Leaf presents a good turn for the supercar set. The less fuel used by 'ordinary' cars, the more that's left for the high-end, no holds-barred machines to burn simply for the hell of it.
Which sounds like a cue for ... the 458 Italia.
The first part of the name references the engine but the part that comes next is equally important - this compact two-seater is the car Ferrari hopes will be the new pride of Italy.
And what's not to write arias about? With its 4.5-litre V8 producing 425kW at a shrieking 9000rpm, a top speed of 325kmh and a 0-100kmh sprint of less than 3.5 seconds, this is the fastest - and highest-revving - road car Ferrari has ever built.
The engine drives through a seven-speed dual-clutch auto borrowed from the recently released California - the model that found global fame recently when one was locked up by Western Australian police when a journo broke the 100kmh posted limit by, um, quite a lot.
Being immediately in a higher league - it's quicker than the semi race-ready 430 Scuderia - the 458 Italia will doubtless always risk similar notoriety, though Ferrari is also pointing to how much kinder the car is to the Earth than its predecessor.
Claimed consumption of just 13.7 litres per 100km and lowish emissions of 320g/km aren't going to win it immediately entry to the Greenpeace corporate carpark (assuming they even have one) but it is more fuel efficient than the F430 it will replace next year. That car averaged 18.7L/100km.
Ferrari took the F430's engine and gave it a thorough going-over, including providing direct fuel injection. That new transmission is also hugely beneficial, too. Plus, there's the lightweight body that liberally employs exotic materials (alloys, magnesium, carbon fibre and carbon ceramic) to keep the kerb weight down to just 1308kg.
Ferrari says its Formula One stand-in, Michael Schumacher, helped to fine-tune the handling of the 458, which the company says delivers even greater levels of cornering grip and superior stopping power to its predecessor.
The sleek body is the work of Pininfarina and takes design cues from the Enzo, though obviously most of what you see is a pointer to the brand's future, rather a revival of the past.
The front end features radical vertical LED headlights, the flanks are dominated by dramatic creases and muscular rear haunches, while the rear end is dominated by a triple-pipe exhaust system and F1-style rear diffuser. Naturally, the mid-engined V8 is still visible through the rear glass window.
Ferrari hasn't released any interior photos yet but says the 458's "new kind of steering wheel and dashboard" are inspired by its GP cars. Expect, then, a new version of the steering-wheel-mounted Manettino switch, which allows drivers to alter a number of car settings.
The car makes its public debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September and while there's no word on price, its unlikely drivers should expect change from less than $600,000.
What this means to you: Ferrari is the fantasy ... Leaf is the long-term reality.
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