Ferrari 458 Challenge Ready For 2011 Season

Ferrari has revealed the new generation of their racing car for their onemake racing series, based on the new 458 Italia.

This model replaces the old F430 in Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli in the 2011 season, which will include a new Asia-Pacific series as well.

Ferrari 458 Italia Challenge features a number of important modifications to adapt it for competition use. The car is specially lightened inside and out. Ferrari’s engineers concentrating in particular on reducing the thickness of the bodyshell panels and on using lightweight materials, such as carbon-fiber and Lexan.

The direct injection 4497 cc V8 remains the same as standard which means it develops 570 hp. The 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.

The new Ferrari 458 Challenge also has a specific suspension set-up with solid aluminum bushings, stiffer springs, single-rate dampers, center-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.