With a Pininfarina-designed body, a naturally aspirated V8 mounted directly behind your back and a truly exhilarating driving experience, the Ferrari 458 Italia remains the definitive supercar of the early 2010s.
So good is the F430’s successor that residual values remain strong, which is why the 458 is best snapped up now before modern classic status takes hold and renders it a near-unaffordable collector’s item.
Given the fact that list prices for newer 296 GTBs and Purosangues are falling by the week, the 458 should make for a solid investment too.
Sure, those cars are more powerful and much faster on paper, but the 458 will certainly nip at their heels – and because it predates the hybrid era, it delivers a sensory experience that its modern equivalents can only dream of.
A 0-62mph time of 3.3sec and a top speed of 210mph mean it’s still a ridiculously quick car and its Getrag-engineered dual-clutch automatic gearbox is the ideal wingman to the 458’s intoxicating 4.5-litre V8, which makes 542bhp and 398lb ft of torque.
You can access 80% of the Ferrari’s power as early as 3250rpm, but you won’t be swapping cogs as low down as that because this heady V8 lump will rev all the way to 9000rpm. Watch for skipping gears on the test drive, though, because the dual-clutch auto can suffer from electric gremlins (see ‘Buyer beware’, right).