2012 Ferrari 458 Italia

If the 458 Italia has a flaw, it’s that it’s possibly too intense.

Let's start with the 4.5-liter V-8 that not only generates 570 bhp and that amazing acceleration we touched on earlier; it's a feral, screaming animal, a 9000-rpm generator of varying tone, pitch and resonance that can be played like a fine musical instrument. "It loves to be revved; it's begging to be revved," says Millen. The 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox complements it perfectly, its shifts summoned by large column-mounted paddles. And depending on the position of the manettino—that red anodized Chiclet on the steering wheel that clicks through five increasingly aggressive modes—those gearchanges can beanything from gentle nudges to brutal, instantaneous hammer blows. The little red switch also controls the diff, throttle response, exhaust-system valving and the magnetorheological shocks and, for our track work, defeats the stability control.