Forza Italia! Ferrari 458 Italia vs. Ducati 1198 S

People often describe Ducati motorcycles as two-wheeled Ferraris, and that’s not surprising. Both manufacturers produce fast, stylish, melodious machinery, frequently painted Italian racing red. Given most Italians’ passionate support for the Maranello-based prancing-horse company, the Ducati folks in Borgo Panigale probably accept the comparison as a compliment.

But how much do the products of these two companies really have in common? Cars and motorcycles possess profoundly distinct dynamics and provide widely varying sensations. High speed feels vastly different when you’re reclined comfortably behind a glass windshield instead of in a tight crouch, seeking shelter from the wind.

Still, the Ferrari 458 Italia and Ducati 1198S we’ve chosen for this test share high performance specifications, combiningeverything you need to go fast in a straight line, as well as around a track, in one street-friendly package. As apex models in their respective worlds, the Ferrari and Ducati are equipped and tuned to excel at everything enthusiasts and connoisseurs expect from such pedigreed machinery.

Despite that, the specifications of the two machines couldn’t be more dissimilar. One has a V-8 displacing 4499 cc and pumps out 557 horsepower at 9000 rpm. The other has a 1198cc V-twin producing 170 horsepower at 9750 rpm. That’s quite a power differential, but the 458 Italia squished our corner scales to the tune of 3439 pounds, where the Ducati merely tiptoed across them at 438 with perfectly even weight distribution.

Of course, the Ferrari has acres of rubber in contact with the pavement, where the Ducati can scarcely manage a couple small handprints. And the Ferrari has some of the coolest aerodynamic techniques ever seen on a road car, with ducts that direct air under, then out of, the car’s skin for optimal drag performance. There are even deformable wings in the radiator inlets that produce downforce only at lower speeds then straighten out as speed increases. As a result, its Cd is a low 0.33.

Sure, the Ducati has also been in a wind tunnel, but that’s mainly to help it slip through the air in the most stable fashion possible. The Ferrari is said to generate nearly 800 pounds of downforce at its top speed of 202 mph. We’d have liked to check that claim, but we couldn’t find a long-enough truck scale.