People usually say the same thing about a sports car: it’s beautiful, insanely fast, but at the same time demanding, fragile, and requires constant attention. This is especially true for Ferrari and “Italians” in general — in the minds of many, they are next to the word ‘unreliability’. But a story from Japan has completely shattered this stereotype.
A local resident, Tetsuya Nagae, bought a Ferrari 458 Italia back in 2011, and as of now, his car has officially covered 390,123 kilometers. Yes, almost four hundred thousand — and the entire mileage is documented.
Moreover, this is not the only example of endurance. Another owner — this time of the track version Ferrari 458 Speciale — has driven over 236 thousand kilometers and also does not complain about the car’s ‘character’.
The secret, it seems, lies in the combination of proper operation and the characteristics of the model itself. The 458 Italia has long been considered one of the most reliable Ferraris. Yes, cars from 2011–2015 had problems with the gearbox, but with proper care, these cars turn out to be much more durable than commonly believed.
It turns out that the legend of the ‘capricious Italians’ doesn’t always hold true. The 458 has proven that it is capable of competing even with Japanese endurance champions and one of the most reliable sports cars, the Porsche 911 — and it does so not in theory, but in practice, clocking up hundreds of thousands of kilometers on the odometer.