The World Is Not Enough

There's been a great deal of talk in the motoring press recently regarding the slow death of the old order of sports cars, and how in a time of increased financial and environmental responsibility, the sensible path to go down to keep cars relevant is with small capacity, assisted induction engines, powering lightweight cars through dual-clutch semi-automatic gearboxes. Elements of this technology are by no means in their infancy, with aspects being evident in everything from a standard Volkswagen Golf right through to the latest high performance supercars. And the current supercar king is the Ferrari 458 Italia. It's won deserved praise for looking great, a proper return to Pininfarina form, but the real merit, and the source of its domination, lies in the sophistication of its drivetrain, and its relationship in turn with the extremely sophisticated aerodynamics and electrical systems.

The aggressively pretty body features sculpted surfaces to direct and manipulate the air, cooling the car and pressing it into the road. The front winglets balance downforce with minimal drag at speed, while beneath the surface there's a seven speed dual clutch transmission with seamless gearchanges. This is connected to another remarkable achievement: a 4.5 litre V8 that produces 562bhp and revs to 9,000 rpm. Working out at 125 horsepower per litre is an achievement of such epic scientific and engineering proportions that if it appeared in a military tank rather than the back of an Italian berlinetta, it'd be regarded as top secret. Furthermore, it's a naturally aspirated engine. No turbos, superchargers, hybrids or KERS here. The 458 may therefore have extremely advanced traction systems and a gearbox that can outperfrom the humans that designed it, but at its heart is a last vestige of the old school: a high revving, refined, powerful, and above all unassisted motor that has propells the car to 202mph, and the top of a fair few perfect garage wishlists. It is certainly one of the best cars in the world right now.

And yet, it is not enough. Not finished in the eyes of some. The thirst for human individuality, and oneupmanship, knows no bounds, and the 458, for all of Ferrari's investment and tinkering, is not exempt from this.

Enter Undergroud Racing, and American outfit in the vein of Germany's Novitec Rosso, who specialise in tuning up the world's ultimate cars. If you've heard of them before and remember them with foreboding it may be due to their effort last year to clock their twin turbo kit Gallardo at a Veyron-baiting 250mph. Specifically, this effort. Non-fans of WreckedExotics.com, look away now...

Assume it comes as standard with a rear panel

No doubting the potency of Underground Racing (UR)'s additions then. And now, as you may expect, they've turned their attentions to the world's best supercar, the 458. The last vestiges of natural aspiration are discarded in favour of upping the powerplant through twin turbos to give an as yet unquoted horsepower output, but expect something approaching four figures in order to stay fashionable with the top of the tree offerings from Bugatti, Hennessey and SSC. It is an impressively neat installation, and the end result will no doubt be capable of spectacular performance. But with the naturally aspirated petrol engine perhaps not long for this world, and the stock factory 458 already revered as such a sensational driving machine, you've got to be a serious speed freak to not see this as slight sacrilege.

This is not a blatant attack of UR, since in part they should be applauded for being the first tuners to bite the bullet and try to improve Ferrari's efforts. Also, thankfully UR do their best to keep the orignal car's looks, making it the most tasteful conversion if you really do need it. Soon the floodgates will open and all the usual suspects like Hamaan, Hartge, Mansory and TechArt will follow suit with turboed and supercharged add-ons, though most of the extra power is required to haul around the obligatory unattractive bodykit and enormous deep-dished wheels. If you like tuners and support them for pushing the boundaries, then the 458 as a base car could in due course produce some of the most outrageous driving machines on the road. If however you view it as the 'more money than sense' side of the fence, and wish the last NA cars weren't being interfered with, stay away from MTV. A tuned motors' finest hour is never on the drag strip. It's as a music video accessory, a display of wealth and scene of seduction for any self-respecting boy from the hood. You pays your money...

This used to be an innocent Enzo. Cheers, Gembella...
Hooray for tuning