Tim Burton or his alter ego on YouTube, Shmee150, invited radio presenter Christian Williams to bring the love of his life – a Ferrari 458 - to Tim’s garage full of breathtakingly beautiful sports cars. They discuss why Christian bought this particular model, how it feels to have one, and whether a Ferrari 458 could become a part of Tim’s collection.
First Was The Will
So, why did Christian choose this particular 4.5 liter V8 Ferrari Spyder with many other appealing alternatives like the 488 or 458 Speciale around? The answer is very simple – it was the first supercar he ever drove. Someone let him drive one for the weekend as a payment, and Christian eagerly agreed rather than take the money.
Since then, as a BOTB presenter, he has driven hundreds of luxurious sporty cars, but the 458 has remained the one and only. It took him some years and hard work to earn enough to buy one. Is this the ultimate car for Christian? No, if the money were not a problem, he would buy a Speciale. So much for the first love – nothing’s new under the sun.
Red is the traditional Ferrari color, but what about gold wheels? Christian prefers to call them bronze. He didn’t choose them like so many other things in the car. He bought it that way. Although the car was not everything he wanted, it was everything he needed. For example, this 458 included a suspension lifter, which is a must in London.
Then Was The Way
Having one shiny, iconic red Ferrari around and just talking about it would have been inexcusable, so Tim and Christian take a ride. The car starts, and, oh, what a sound! It’s like a lift-off. With the new Forza exhaust controller Christian bought, at 50 mph the car sounds as if one were at illegal speeds.
When Tim gets behind the wheel, he changes to manual mode at once. The shifts are super twitchy, so it’s hard to believe the car shares the gearbox with the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. Christian likes that with different modes, one can feel like an F1 driver without ending up in a hedge. The sensitivity of the throttle pedal, the brake, and the steering are so great, that it’s as if the car were alive. It’s not like a modern EV that gets to silly speeds with no effort. In the 458, the driver feels how the power goes through the gearbox down to the wheels.
Why The Spider?
The downside of the Spider in the UK is that it rains a good portion of the year. Thankfully, the Ferrari 458 Spider is a hardtop convertible, making it a great option even if you get caught in the rain.