[VIDEO] RHD C8 Corvette Stingray Gives this Ferrari 458 Speciale A Race It Didn’t Expect

By
Alex Sommers
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6
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[VIDEO] RHD C8 Corvette Stingray Gives this Ferrari 458 Speciale A Race It Didn't Expect


Pay close attention, Ferrari fans! This is the last time that your best naturally aspirated V8 supercar will stand a chance against Chevrolet’s offering. Last week, the blokes over at the carwow (yes, in all lowercase) YouTube channel got their mitts on a right-hand-drive(!) Caffeine Metallic Corvette Stingray Z51 and the closest thing on the market to the upcoming C8 Z06, a Ferrari 458 Speciale.

The Speciale was the limited-run high(er) performance version of the 458 Italia that Corvette Executive Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter called “probably the best sports car ever made” and, uncoincidentally, chose as a benchmark for his new flat-plane masterpiece. So, what is the 495-horse blue-collar American up against here? The 458 Italia was the last hurrah for free-breathing V8s in Maranello. It famously featured a 9,000 rpm redline and made 562 horses from 4.5 liters. The Speciale was the hardcore swansong for the model. It upped the ante to 597 HP, received extra aerodynamic aids, and cut weight to a claimed 3,075 lbs. (though most owners that have put one on a scale have reported a reading in the neighborhood of 3,350 lbs.). That gives it 102 more horses than the ‘Vette, and each equine has to haul around somewhere between 5.15 and 5.6 lbs. vs. the 7.25 lbs. per horse of the Corvette.

[VIDEO] RHD C8 Corvette Stingray Gives this Ferrari 458 Speciale A Race It Didn't Expect


Even with the outrageous markups that the white-hot mid-engine Corvette has dealt with since it hit the scene, the real imbalance in this test is price. The Speciale stickered around $300,000 in 2014 and, like all special edition Ferraris, has seen significant appreciation since then. Hagerty currently pegs a Concours condition Speciale at an eyewatering $648,000, while an example in a “#3, Good” state of repair still commands $412,000 on today’s market. Those are year-over-year gains of 85.1% and 37.8%, respectively. So the working man’s supercar from Bowling Green, Kentucky, is squaring off against a genuine investment piece here!

[VIDEO] RHD C8 Corvette Stingray Gives this Ferrari 458 Speciale A Race It Didn't Expect


Before we cut to the chase and share the link to this David and Goliath video matchup, we would like to take a moment to acknowledge what a monumental and unlikely achievement the upcoming Z06 truly is by highlighting a quote from our friend Don Sherman. When the 458 debuted, Mr. Sherman, then with Automobile Magazine, opened his glowing review by saying, “With the lowly Corvette ZR1 and a fresh Porsche 911 Turbo yapping at its hooves, the prancing horse rises to the asphalt-kicking cause. Ferrari’s 458 Italia not only eclipses the performance of every challenger save the Bugatti Veyron, it lifts the normally-aspirated bar to heights that will probably never be topped.” That was in the summer of 2010, and until the Z broke more than 11 years later, his prophecy about the future atmospheric engines was still true. The existence of the C8 Z06 is nothing short of a miracle!

[VIDEO] RHD C8 Corvette Stingray Gives this Ferrari 458 Speciale A Race It Didn't Expect


But while we impatiently wait for retail units of Chevy’s 670-horse screamer to hit the street, the Stingray gets one last go as the representative of the top of the Plastic Fantastic hierarchy. Prepare to be shocked at how well it fares against the Speciale below, and keep the thought of the Z’s (certainly conservative claimed) 10.6 quarter-mile ET on your mind while you do, the coming years are going to be an absolute blast!


Source:
carwow (YouTube)

Related:
The 2023 Corvette Z06 Is Making Waves Among Ferrari and Porsche Fans
Why The 2023 Corvette Z06 Sounds Like A Ferrari
[VIDEO] Comparison of the 9000 RPM Ferrari 458 to the Sound Made by the C8 Corvette Z06

 



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6 COMMENTS

  1. I would be embarrassed if I owned that 458, American muscle was right there the whole time. Plus the Vette can be driven every friggen day year round, try that in a 458. At over four times the cost with way higher maintenance costs, I’ll take the Vette thank you very much:)

  2. One is a Ferrari and the other one is Chevrolet. Guess which one is currently worth twice the amount it was new? And which one will still be desirable in the future and isn’t just part of a trend that will pass.

  3. I can’t get over how good that Copper Metallic looks. Reminds me a bit of Black Rose Metallic when it’s in the sun. But… still a little too brown for me.

  5. Yeah good point Ron… I’m sure the c8 won’t be desirable in the future because nobody collects older Vettes right…. especially the last ICE generation….Yeah take the trolling elsewhere.

  6. Kudos to Alex Sommers for an important clarification on the curb weight of the pista. A normal 458 spider is mid 3700 pounds confirmed. Lighting the regular 458 takes it firmly in the 3400 range.

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