- Delivered across Sydney
- Bond and fees shown before you pay
- Never swapped to a lesser car
Neither car uses a turbocharger, both put the engine behind your shoulders, and both shift through a seven-speed dual-clutch. After that they part company. The Ferrari has eight cylinders and sends everything to the rear tyres; the Lamborghini has ten and drives all four wheels. The Huracan is ours and can be booked today, while the 458 is sourced for your dates. This page explains which of the two suits your hire, and when the Ferrari is still worth waiting for.
Send us your 458 dates
Tell us the dates, the delivery suburb and whether you want the Italia or the Spider. We source the car and put the exact car and the total in writing before your card is touched.
The Short Answer
If this is your first car with this kind of power, if the forecast is unsettled, or if the
dates cannot move, book the Lamborghini Huracan. The Lamborghini belongs to us, it can be booked today from $2,500 a day, and driving all four wheels buys it a safety margin on a slippery surface that a rear-driven car simply cannot offer. If you have driven quick rear-drive cars before, the weather looks settled and the Ferrari
is the car you have been picturing for years, the 458 is worth the wait. It is confirmed by request
from $2,200 a day: once your dates arrive we go looking for a suitable car, and its details and the all-in figure are in your inbox before a cent changes hands.
The two have more in common than most rivals do. Each carries a naturally aspirated engine in
the middle of the car, each changes gear through a seven-speed dual-clutch, and each belongs to a
generation that is now closing as turbochargers and batteries take over. What separates them is
the number of cylinders and the number of driven wheels, and those two details change the whole
character of a day behind the wheel.
The Numbers Next to Each Other
| Specification | Ferrari 458 Italia | Lamborghini Huracan (our own car) |
|---|---|---|
| Years | 2009 to 2015 (Spider from 2011) | 2019 build |
| Engine | 4.5-litre V8, naturally aspirated | 5.2-litre V10, naturally aspirated |
| Power | 419kW at 9,000rpm | 449kW |
| 0-100km/h | 3.4 seconds | 3.2 seconds |
| Gearbox | Seven-speed dual-clutch | Seven-speed dual-clutch |
| Drivetrain | Rear-wheel drive | All-wheel drive |
| Front lift | Fitted to some cars, stated in the confirmation | Nose lift fitted |
| Seats | 2 | 2 |
| How you get one | Confirmed by request for your dates | Bookable today |
Ferrari's own published figures fill the left-hand column, taken from the 458 Italia; the Spider, with its folding
aluminium hard top, carries the same engine and power. The Lamborghini column matches our own car
and its booking page. On paper the Huracan leads by 30kW and two tenths of a second to 100km/h.
Within Sydney's speed limits, neither gap will ever be felt. The way each car delivers its
performance decides everything.
Where They Actually Differ
Eight cylinders against ten
The 458's 4.5-litre V8 is the smaller engine, and it feels it at low revs. At low revs
it is smooth, willing and entirely civil, but it saves its best work for the last third of the
dial, where it hardens into the high, metallic howl that made the car famous. It rewards a driver
who holds a gear a little longer than feels natural. The Lamborghini's V10 has more displacement
spread across more cylinders, so it pulls with slightly more authority from a standstill and
wraps its noise in more layers: a deep growl at a cruise, a harder edge in the middle and a
distinctive wail near the top.
Both respond to the throttle with the directness that only an engine breathing on its own can
offer, and in that sense they are closer to each other than either is to anything turbocharged. If
the Ferrari's engine is the reason you are reading this page, our piece on the
458's V8 and what 9,000rpm actually feels like
covers it in far more detail than a comparison can.
Rear-drive precision against all-wheel-drive security
This is the difference that matters most on a hire. In the 458 the front tyres do nothing but
steer, and every kilowatt reaches the road through the two at the back. The steering is therefore
clean and uncluttered, and on a dry road with a good surface the car feels exact: you place the
nose, and the rest of the car follows it through the bend. Many experienced drivers consider that
purity the finest thing about a mid-engined Ferrari.
The cost appears when grip runs short. A damp patch under trees, a painted pedestrian crossing,
a film of diesel on a roundabout: in a rear-drive car with 419kW, each of those asks for a smooth
right foot and a little patience before you open the throttle. The traction systems are good, and
the advice in the 458 review stands for this page too: leave the manettino in sport and keep the
traction systems on. They are a safety net, though, and they do not change which wheels are
driven.
The Huracan spreads its effort across all four tyres, so it pulls itself out of a corner rather
than being pushed from behind. On a cool morning on the Old Pacific Highway you can use more of the
car with less thought, and a mistake with the throttle is absorbed rather than amplified. The price
is a steering feel that is a shade heavier and less delicate, and a nose that will run slightly
wide if you arrive at a bend too quickly. For most drivers on most days that is a trade worth
making. The Ferrari rewards precision, and the Lamborghini rewards confidence.
Sydney weather and the roads you will actually use
Sydney does not need a downpour to make a rear-drive supercar hard work. The best driving roads
near the city run through bush and along escarpments, and shaded sections stay damp long after the
suburbs have dried. The Royal National Park loop, the climb up to Bald Hill and the tighter
stretches of the Old Pacific Highway can all be wet in one corner and dry in the next on an
autumn morning. In the Huracan you notice that as a change in grip. In the 458 you notice it as a
change in the way you must drive.
That is why both live reviews point wet-weather and less experienced drivers towards the
Lamborghini, and why this comparison does the same. It is not that the 458 is dangerous. It is
that the Ferrari asks for a level of care on a damp road that turns a relaxed day into a
concentrated one.
The cabins and the first ten minutes
Both makers moved the indicators onto the steering wheel, and both cars catch new drivers out
with that for the first few junctions. Beyond that the cabins feel very different. The 458 wraps
itself around the driver, with a large central rev counter flanked by two small screens and a
wheel that carries the manettino, the starter and most of the switches you need. It feels
purposeful and slightly theatrical. The Huracan relies on one configurable digital display, a row
of aircraft-style toggles in the centre console, and a cabin that is a few years newer in every
detail you touch.
Neither is spacious. If you are tall, say so in your first message: each car has enough headroom, but little to spare. Luggage in each goes under the front
bonnet and is limited to soft bags.
Age, history and what certainty is worth
The youngest 458 was built in 2015, and many were built earlier. That is not a problem in
itself, because a well-kept 458 drives as sharply now as it did new. It does mean that the
individual car matters, and a car sourced for your dates is checked before it is offered: how it has been kept, what its records show, whether it is an Italia or a Spider, and whether a front lift is fitted. Our Huracan is
a 2019 car whose history we know, whose nose lift we demonstrate at the handover, and whose
availability sits on its own page.
Why Booking the Huracan Is Simpler
A fleet car is a known quantity. When you book the Huracan you know which car will arrive, what
the bond and the excess are and what the kilometre allowance covers, and you can see those
figures before you start. The 458 goes through a different process. That process is no less careful, only slower, and a weekend that is days rather than weeks away can leave too little time to complete it.
The practical advice is to decide how much the Ferrari matters to you before you decide how
early to ask. If the 458 is the whole point, send the dates a few weeks ahead so there is time to
source the right car and confirm its details properly. If you would be almost as happy in the
Lamborghini, book the Huracan now and keep the 458 for another occasion. Should the Lamborghini also be spoken for, our next suggestion would be the McLaren 650S: rear-drive and turbocharged, so it suits the dry-road driver rather than
the cautious one.
When the 458 Is Still Worth Waiting For
When it is the Ferrari you have always meant. For a lot of people the 458 is
the shape that comes to mind when somebody says the word Ferrari. If that describes you, the Lamborghini will impress you all day and still leave a small gap where the Ferrari should have been, and no table of figures can close it.
When you want a car that asks to be driven well. Drivers who have spent time in
quick rear-drive cars often find the Ferrari the more rewarding of the two, precisely because it
asks more. On a dry weekday morning, with a clear road ahead, the balance of a mid-engined car
driving only its rear wheels is something all-wheel drive cannot reproduce.
When the open roof is the point. The 458 Spider folds its aluminium hard top
away behind the seats and puts that V8 directly behind your ears. For a coastal drive in warm
weather, that is a strong reason to ask for the Ferrari and wait for the answer.
When the rate settles it. The Ferrari's daily rate sits below the
Lamborghini's, and over a two or three day hire the difference becomes a meaningful sum. If you
are comfortable with rear-wheel drive and flexible on dates, the 458 is the less expensive way to
put a naturally aspirated mid-engined car in your driveway.
When the dates are months away. Lead time is the single biggest factor in
whether a by-request car can be confirmed. An anniversary or a birthday planned a season ahead leaves ample room to track down a well-kept 458 in the trim you want.
Which One to Book
Choose the Huracan when any of these apply: you have not driven a supercar before, rain is possible, the dates are close or cannot move, or you simply want the calmer of the pair. It is the car we recommend most
often for a first drive in this class, and the
Huracan review covers it on its own terms.
Choose the 458 when at least one of the reasons in the previous section fits, and when the plan itself suits a car that drives its rear wheels: fine weather, well-surfaced roads, a driver with experience of powerful rear-drive cars, and a request made early enough for the sourcing to be done properly. Its own
review page sets out the Italia and the Spider in full,
and if you are also weighing it against its turbocharged successor, the
458 and 488 comparison deals with that choice.
If the Ferrari 458 is booked
We never move you down a tier. If your dates are taken, these are the supercar cars we will offer instead, and we will tell you plainly if none of them is free rather than substituting something lesser on the day.
Lamborghini Huracan
- 449kW
- 3.2s
- AWD
- 2 seats
- $2500/day
Naturally aspirated V10 and all-wheel drive. The most dramatic car we run and the most forgiving supercar in the wet.
McLaren 650S Coupe
- 478kW
- 3.0s
- RWD
- Carbon tub
- $2600/day
Twin-turbo V8 in a carbon chassis. The quickest car on the list and the one that feels most like a racing car with number plates.
Rather have the certainty of the Huracan?
The Huracan is ours: ten cylinders, no turbos, all four wheels driven and a nose lift for driveways, with dates you can book today. Give us the dates and we will lock it in, or quote it next to a 458.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I book the 458 today the way I can book the Huracan?
Not in the same way. Our Huracan shows its calendar on its own page, and open dates can be reserved on the spot. The 458 is confirmed by request: you pick the dates and the body style, we locate a car we would be glad to hand over under our own name, and our reply sets out that car and its total cost in writing. You pay nothing until you accept, and if no 458 can be found you hear that plainly.
Which of the two is better on a wet day?
The Huracan, without much argument. It drives all four wheels, so a damp road, a painted line or a shaded corner that has not dried asks far less of the driver. The 458 is rear-wheel drive with 419kW, and although its traction systems are good, rain calls for a smooth right foot throughout. If the forecast for your dates looks unsettled, choose the Lamborghini.
How old do I need to be to drive either car?
Twenty-five for both. Both belong to the Supercar tier, which sets the floor at 25 and asks for a full unrestricted licence, sighted by us when the keys change hands. Younger drivers cannot be added at any price on these cars. A second driver can share the car, provided they are listed on the booking and satisfy the identical age and licence test.
Will you deliver the car to my address?
Yes. Mosman, Cronulla and Double Bay are all ordinary delivery addresses, and the rest of Sydney is covered as well. The charge depends on distance and is shown as a separate line next to the hire price before you pay. Both cars sit close to the road, so if your driveway is steep we will hand over on level ground in the street instead.
How do the bond and excess work on these cars?
The bond is an authorisation held against the lead driver's card: nothing is debited, and the hold lifts once we look the car over on its return. The excess is the most you contribute if the car is damaged. Both are higher on the Supercar tier than on everyday cars. On the Huracan they appear on the booking; on a 458 they are set for the individual car and confirmed before payment.
Which one sounds better?
That is personal, but they are genuinely different. The 458's V8 has a higher, harder voice that climbs towards a howl near its 9,000rpm limit. The Huracan's V10 is deeper and more layered, with a noticeable change of tone as the revs rise. Both are loud, both are free of turbochargers, and most people who try both remember the Ferrari's top end and the Lamborghini's growl.
Can I ask for the 458 and keep the Huracan as a backup?
Yes, and for a fixed date it is the sensible way to ask. Put the 458 down as the car you want and the Huracan as the fallback. We try to secure the Ferrari first; if no suitable Ferrari turns up, we see whether the Lamborghini's calendar is open for the same days, and you learn which car it is and the price before any money moves.