Auto Trader NZ
Published 3 September 2020
Director Michael Bay said on his website that while attending a Ferrari charity event this week raising money for Haiti, he announced the newest Autobot will be the latest sports car from Ferrari, the 458 Italia.
The first US-market Italia sold for US$530,000 (NZ$750,000) at the event.
Previous Autobots to appear in the Transformers movies have been the Chevrolet Camaro, GMC Topkick, Hummer H2, Peterbilt 379, Chevrolet Corvette, and Chevrolet Volt, so the Ferrari 458 Italia is sure to add some serious impact.
The new 4499cc V8 is the first Ferrari direct injection engine to be mid-rear mounted. It produces 540 Nm of torque at 6000 rpm. It’s also a pretty flexible engine, with 80 per cent of the 398lb ft of torque available from 3250rpm, with two-thirds on tap all the way through the rev range.
Ferrari estimates the 458 Italia will rocket from 0-100kph in under 3.4 seconds, before hitting a top speed in excess of 325kph.
Read our review of the Ferrari 458 here.
