Sure, there is a seven-year difference between the Ferrari 458 Speciale and the Chevrolet C8 Corvette Stingray but as this video shows, the two mid-engined supercars are very well-matched.
It is no secret that the 458 has been a target of the C8 Corvette, so much so that Chevy’s engineers benchmarked the new Z06 against the Ferrari. Eager to see how the two perform against each other, CarWow tested them alongside each other in a handful of drag races from a standing start, a rolling race, and in a braking test.
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In the first race between the two, the C8 Corvette gets the far better launch, sprinting off the line and leaving the Ferrari in its wake. However, as the 4.5-liter V8 of the 458 pumps out 605 hp and 398 lb-ft (540 Nm) compared to the 482 hp and 452 lb-ft (613 Nm) of UK-spec Corvette, the Ferrari does begin to close the gap but can’t do so fast enough before they cross the quarter-mile.
The second race is more representative as the 458 Speciale got a proper launch and while the Corvette did jump off the line, it couldn’t hold off the Ferrari. It is a very similar story in the third and final race where the Chevy gets the better launch but is unable to keep pace as the speeds build. The Ferrari ultimately finished the quarter-mile in 11.7 seconds compared to the 11.8 seconds needed by the Corvette.
When it comes to the rolling race, the two prove to be remarkably well-matched, mainly because the transmission of the Ferrari didn’t change down gears automatically and was stuck in fifth. With the cars in their manual-shifting modes, however, the Ferrari had no trouble walking away from the Corvette and taking an easy victory.