The Ferrari 458 Italia may be one of the best cars to come out of Maranello this decade. It entered at the turn of the 2010s, competing directly with the McLaren MP4-12C, escalating Ferrari higher than their F430 ever could have. The 458 Italia had the numbers to back up these claims, producing 570 HP and 398 lb. ft. of torque way up in the rev range, one that stretched all the way to 9,000 RPM. It’s still treasured for its naturally aspirated 4.5L V8 by purists, the last of its kind before switching to the twin turbo unit in the 488. Even with all of this, the Italia didn’t stand a chance against the Koenigsegg Agera R in this drag race.
Whereas the Ferrari has numbers to impress, the Koenigsegg shames them with an output of double the 458’s horsepower. 1,140 HP and over 1,200 nM of torque do a fine job of pushing around the Agera R’s 3,163 pounds, allowing the car to go 0-60 MPH in 2.8 seconds and 0-120 MPH in only 7.8 seconds.
An empty airstrip makes for a good setting to let these two run-what-they-brung. As they start from a roll, the race remains close for the first bit. The 458 builds speed linearly while the Koenigsegg spools up, eventually catapulting away and gapping the Ferrari by bus lengths. The laughable grin on the 458 driver’s face shows good sport between the both of them, though you can’t help but see a little hurt inside. I guess that’s what a million dollar competitor does to your self-worth.
