A lustable Ferrari

Ferrari 458 Italia. (Photo by Charlie Magee.)


WOOOP! (Photo by Charlie Magee.)

My February 2010 issue of Car & Driver Magazine has done an overview of the new Ferrari 458 Italia.
At long last, a Ferrari to lust after.
It’s not a trademark 12-cylinder; it’s a 274 cubic inch (4.497 liters) V8.
But it’s a step away from the angular doorstops supercars have become.
Actually, all Ferraris are lustable — it’s just that over the last 40 years they became low-slung bricks.
The 458 replaces the F430 (pictured below), and makes it look plain.
Ferrari has made many great-looking cars, but two are standouts, maybe three.

F430.

—1) Is the early Testa Rossa racecars of the middle ‘50s.
—2) Is the 275 GTB4 of the middle ‘60s; and
—3) Are the Lussos, although they’re not 1 or 2.
-When I was a child, my parents got a Fuller Brush catalog. It had write-ups of Testa Rossas by Denise McCluggage.
I was smitten. What a gorgeous car.
-A few years ago I saw a 275 GTB4 at a sportscar show in Watkins Glen.
The best-looking road Ferrari ever, and probably worth a million dollars.
-Actor Steve McQueen owned a Lusso. I confused it with the prettiest, but it ain’t the GTB4.

Lamborghini Murcielago.

But this new Italia is gorgeous. Compare it to a Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV, which is attractive, but a doorstop.

Testa Rossa.

Photo by BobbaLew.

GTB4.

McQueen’s Lusso.