Ferrari 458 Italia front left fender and wheel arch - St. Petersburg Car PhotographyAt a recent car show in St. Petersburg I had a chance to see and photograph my current favorite car in the world, the Ferrari 458 Italia.  As I described in this other photography tip post on the Ferrari it is very hard to get good full car photographs at a car show.  Therefore, I focused on detail shots more than showing the 458 Italia in full.  

Ferrari 458 Italia designed by Pininfarina logo - St. Petersburg Car PhotographyThe few badges that decorate the 458 Italia are all classy, like the above Pininfarina logo, whose meaning is not obvious unless you are a fan of Italian sports cars and supercars.  

front grill air spoilers bookend the Prancing Pony logo on Ferrari 458 Italia - St. Petersburg Car PhotographyThese flexible spoilers on the front facia of the Ferrari 458 Italia are designed to change shape at speed to improve downforce.  In the middle of the rest of the matte black spoiler resides the Ferrari Prancing Pony logo.  

Ferrari 458 Italia LED headlight - St. Petersburg Car PhotographyOne of the most striking design features of the 458 Italia is its elongated LED headlights.  These are a new design element being featured on all new Ferraris (California, FF) and ad a distinctive look that to me signals a new generation of Ferrari.  They are radical, but I like them even though the remind me of the head of an Alien from the Alien series of movies.  

Ferrari 458 Italia LED taillight - St. Petersburg Car PhotographyThe taillights also contain LEDs but maintain the traditional circular Ferrari design, although they are in a single cluster, while the previous F430 model featured dual clusters.  I prefer the dual design as a single cluster seems a bit small and in the middle of no where looking.

Ferrari 458 Italia rear view - St. Petersburg Car PhotographyThe rear of the 458 Italia is Spartan with just another Prancing Pony logo and the Ferrari nameplate on top of the engine cover.  Not pictured is a triple, centered tailpipe cluster.  For some reason I did not think to photograph those!

Ferrari 458 Italia engine block detail - St. Petersburg Car PhotographyThe engine cover is transparent showing off the massive V8 that looks more like something that would power a spacecraft rather than a mere automobile.  Obviously the engine sounds even better than it looks.

Ferrari 458 Italia Brembo carbon ceramic brakes with red calipers - St. Petersburg Car PhotographyAny supercar nowadays has to come with carbon ceramic brakes and usually brightly color brake calipers.  The 458 Italia is no exception.  The wheels themselves are a kind of generic pentastar looking design that seem conservative in comparison to the styling of the rest of the exterior.

Ferrari 458 Italia 2011 model right side view - St. Petersburg Car PhotographyHere again is the full side view photograph I made by cloning out many distractions.  I may someday have a chance to properly photograph this particular 458 Italia as the owner did express interest at having photographs.  I of course gave him my business card.  Hopefully he will call soon!

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Bugatti Veyron Super Sport in blue carbon fiber at St. Petersburg Florida car showThe current fastest car in the world is the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.  There are no challengers.  It is so dominant that just saying the word Veyron ends any discussion.  Seeing the Veyron at speed makes me feel like I am looking at something supernatural.  The sound it makes, the unblinking performance, the methodical cornering, it all happens in absolute dominant fashion . . . yet with no hard edge.  It is like a benign apex predator.

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport in blue carbon fiber - view from above with crowd in St. PetersburgThe crowd at the car show in downtown St. Petersburg either were all very aware of the mystique of this car, or the crowd itself around it kept drawing an ever new crowd.  I believe it was mostly the latter.  Therefore, it was impossible to get any clean shots of it without someone getting in to pose with it as if it were some celebrity.  Using the cloning techniques on this Ferrari photo to clean up the shots was not really possible even.

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport in blue carbon fiber rear view - St. Petersburg FloridaWhat struck me about seeing the Veyron in person for the first time was how small it was.  It has a 16-cyclinder engine in the back after all.  Yet it looks no bigger than a Porsche 911.  You could easily park it or drive it down any road (without speedbumps).  It is really compact.  There was a guard making sure this $2.8 million hypercar was too fawned over.  I spoke with him at length about this particular Veyron.  Since it was the Super Sport version and had special blue carbon fiber body work, it demanded that higher than the usual $1.5 million or so price tag.  The car was actually just purchased that morning.  I was told that a buyer had been interested in it for awhile and finally pulled the trigger on it.  

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport gas cap with blue carbon fiber detailIn blue, the carbon fiber body really stands out and looks striking.  Underneath the lightweight exoskeleton, the engineering behind the car is mind boggling.  It is extremely hard to create a car with air conditioning and blinkers that can also go over 260 mph.

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport wheel and brake caliperAfter watching many videos of the Veryon, to see it in person gave me a new appreciation for it.  It is kind of like seeing the Eiffel Tower or any other engineering marvel.  The difference with the Veyron though, is you can take it home.  

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