Thursday, August 26, 2010

Mystery Surrounds Hex on $250,000 Ferrari 458

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The $250,000 Ferrari 458 Italia launched to high acclaim in the spring and only a few hundred have been sold so far.

But since the cars went on sale, six have been involved in accidents, three have caught fire and one was destroyed when a warehouse went up in flames.

Four of the incidents happened in the last 10 days.

It is not thought that the 458 design has a fault, just that the owners have been unusually unlucky.


It's not uncommon for new exotic models to start off with a few crashes ... although the 458 does have a higher than normal crash count so far.

Greg Carlson, founder of Wrecked Exotics
The first crash took place in May in Poland when a young driver swerved to avoid a bus. Incidents have also been reported in Spain, the Czech Republic, France, Italy and the United States.

In the UK, one Ferrari 458 Italia, which has a top speed of 202mph, hit a barrier on a wet road in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.

Another, which had been customised with a Dolce and Gabbana interior, was damaged in a warehouse blaze after it was flown from Saudi Arabia to London Heathrow.

The Ferrari 458 Italia is not believed to have a fault

The spate of incidents was uncovered by website Wrecked Exotics, which logs accidents involving high-end cars including Lamborghinis, Porsches and Bugattis.

Website founder Greg Carlson said there had been more crashes involving the latest Ferrari than he expected.

"It's not uncommon for new exotic models to start off with a few crashes, owners are getting the feel for the new car, some are taking it beyond their skill level, although the 458 does have a higher than normal crash count so far," he said.

Ferrari has declined to comment but is understood to be investigating the fire-related incidents.

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this lovely yellow one was damaged in a warehouse blaze after it was flown from Saudi Arabia to London Heathrow Airport and insurance will cover only a small portion of its value.

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about the car:

The new direct-injection mid-rear mounted 4.5L V8 is seriously potent with 570 horsepower and 398 lb-ft of torque, of which, 80% is available at 3,250 rpm. This brilliant engine is mated with a 7-speed dual clutch gearbox sending power to the rear axle. Similar to the outgoing Ferrari F430, the new 458 Italia has an aluminum frame which provides a very low dry weight of only 3,042 pounds.

The Ferrari 458 Italia now has the distinction of being the first production model capable of breaking the 200 mph barrier with a top speed of 202 mph. And the sprint from 0 to 62 mph takes only 3.4 seconds.

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