Ferrari Race Car, Street Car Roll Off Same Assembly Line

The consumer Ferrari 458 Italia is a true brother of its racing counterparts that won 2014 races in both the GT Le Mans (GTLM) and GT Daytona (GTD) classes of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.

Both the street and racing versions roll off the same assembly line in Maranello, Italy. Under the skin, the street and race cars are largely the same, except for class-specific rules regarding transmission, brakes, and underbody aerodynamics for the racing versions. In each case, though, the consumer 458 is actually more sophisticated than its racing counterpart.

After assembly, the race cars are taken to Michelotto for completion – which mainly involves taking away many of the conveniences offered in the street version.“The race car is optimized in every direction possible,” said Townsend Bell, who joined Bill Sweedler in winning the 2014 Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup in GTD co-driving a Ferrari 458 Italia fielded by AIM Autosport. “They try to remove as much weight as possible, and increase the stiffness of the chassis, significantly stiffening the springs and damping to handle the forces you see on the race track. They also add additional downforce with a big rear wing, and increase the mechanical grip that comes with the Continental Tires.“The race car loses any creature comforts that might have existed, short of Alcantara dash, which stays in place. That’s a nice touch.”The 458 Italia that competed in GTD uses what is essentially a slightly restricted stock 458 Italia engine. Other changes include removing the traction control, ABS system and carbon ceramic brakes, in addition to moveable front aerodynamics.The F458 Italia that competes in GTLM gets bodywork with more advanced aerodynamics that produces more downforce, along with wider tires that gives it more grip than the street or GTD versions. The engine also uses an Italia stock block, but it is heavily modified for competition. The ABS system and moveable front aerodynamics are also removed.“The race car is stripped down and optimized for going fast, which being able to handle the punishment of 12- or 24-hour races,” said Bell, who will join Sweedler in the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia in 2015 GTD competition.