The Ferrari 458 is rather Speciale

MY Ferrari’s speedometer stays firmly pegged at 48 mph. A minivan rockets by, passing on the left. A small boy puts his nose to the window, opens his mouth wide and waves. Perhaps this is the first real-life Ferrari he’s ever seen — or maybe just the first one driving so slowly.

The 458 Speciale I’m testing is painted a vigorous red. It’s also got racing stripes, basically doubling down on the attention factor. I’m quite sure, for instance, the police will take notice. After all, would you pull over a Honda Civic or this €300,000 supercar?

Hence, two miles under the speed limit. No problem. I’ve been looking forward to the Speciale since it was announced last year at the Frankfurt motor show. Better, I’m headed to the racetrack, the speed-appropriate place to let its 597 horses roam free.