In its quest to make lighter cars the latest 'Prancing Horse' is casting its lot with Aluminium as the lightweight material of choice. Ferrari insists that Aluminium is superior for most cars and so the new 458 Italia uses Aluminium castings, extrusions, and stamped sheet.

As the company has learned how to form and shape Aluminium, they have reduced the sheet thickness to 0.9mm; the castings that serve as the focal point of the structure have also shrunk. In some places Ferrari uses a casting as thin as 2mm.

The successor to the 458 will also be Aluminium and could weigh as little as 1,180kg.

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