The Ferrari 458 Challenge has made its world premiere debut in Maranello during the Annual Dealer Meeting, a traditional event that brings together the representatives of Ferrari's international sales network.
The new berlinetta, which will flank the F430 Challenge in the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli in the 2011 season, is the fifth model used by Ferrari in its one-make championship which, next year, will be extended to include a new Asia-Pacific series.
Coming just a few months after the 2010 Frankfurt Motor Show unveiling of the Ferrari 458 Italia on which it is based, the Ferrari 458 Challenge introduces a number of important modifications to adapt it for competition use.The direct injection 4497 cc V8 remains strictly in production tune, with an output of 570 hp at 9,000
rpm. That said, modifications have been made to the gear ratios and calibration of its dual-clutch F1 gearbox to guarantee higher torque at lower revs. The Ferrari 458 Challenge is also equipped with the E-Diff electronic differential already employed on the road-going version, a first for Ferrari's track-only cars.
Significant work has also gone into cutting the car's weight. This focused on both the exterior and interior with Ferrari's engineers concentrating in particular on reducing the thickness of the bodyshell panels and on using lightweight materials, such as carbon-fibre and Lexan.
The new Ferrari 458 Challenge also has a specific suspension set-up with solid aluminium bushings, stiffer
springs, single-rate dampers, centre-nut 19" racing rims, larger dimension Pirelli slicks and a ride height lowered by 30mm all round. It is also equipped with the new generation Brembo CCM2 brakes which debuted on the 599XX, Ferrari's extreme experimental laboratory car, and which are integrated with an ABS system that features two configurations - low grip and high performance for dry surfaces.
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