Sport Cars: Oakley Design Ferrari 458 Italia

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Oakley Design Ferrari 458 Italia

It appears Stasis' tuned Audi R8 won't be the only European supercar to grace the Specialty Equipment Market Association show. Oakley Design, a firm noted mainly for tuning Porsches, revealed today it plans on bringing a customized Ferrari 458 Italia to next week's trade show.
Although Oakley has previously been tied to various Porsche projects, the company recently expanded its offerings to the new 458. In stock form, the Italia's 4.5-liter V-8 cranks out an impressive 570 horsepower and 398 pound-feet of torque, but Oakley's team believed they could improve upon Maranello's design. With a new intake system and a remapped engine computer, Oakley claims it was able to coax another 48 ponies and 20 pound-feet from the engine, bringing output to 618 horsepower and 418 pound-feet.
According to the tuner, the extra power helps thrust the 458 from 0-60 mph in a scant 3.0 seconds -- four-tenths of a second quicker than a stock Italia -- and to a top speed above the 205 mph mark. To help the driver retain control of the car at such speeds, Oakley's custom front and rear spoilers create an extra 99 and 55 pounds of downforce, respectively.
Oakley Design Ferrari 458 Italia Rear
To help set apart its 458 from stock cars, Oakley scrapped the standard five-spoke wheel in favor of giant HRE forged rims, which are both lighter and wider than the original hardware. Additionally, Oakley's blacked out portions of the A-pillar, roof, and decklid, allowing the 458's curved roofline to resemble a fighter jet's bubble canopy.
Oakley plans on building five 458s itself, one of which will be at SEMA next week. For those who already own a 458 but desire some of Oakley's touches, fear not -- the tuning shop insists it will offer these performance and cosmetic upgrades a la carte.