The Ferrari 458 Italia road car (Type F142), introduced at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, was a mid-engine V8 grand tourer powered by a 4,497 cc naturally aspirated engine producing 570 PS at 9,000 rpm. Its replacement for the F430, the 458 combined direct fuel injection, a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox by Getrag, and extensive aerodynamic development including deformable front winglets. Ferrari's long-standing motorsport constructor partner Michelotto developed both the GTE (GT2) and GT3 racing versions of the 458 Italia, presented simultaneously in 2011.
The 458 Italia GT3 is slightly lighter and more powerful than its GT2 sibling. Where the GTE-class car runs the 4.5-litre V8 with an air restrictor that limits output to approximately 470 PS and a red-line of 6,250 rpm to suit ACO/FIA endurance rules, the GT3 version operates closer to road-car specification, generating around 558 PS with a 9,000 rpm red-line. Aerodynamic regulations for GT3 differ from GTE as well, meaning the two cars carry distinct bodywork treatments despite sharing their base platform. The GT3 was prepared and sold to private customer teams through Ferrari's Corse Clienti program.
From its debut in 2011, the 458 Italia GT3 accumulated an exceptional record in international and national championships.
In the Blancpain Endurance Series, Ferrari's premier GT3 platform took the GT3 PRO AM Team and Drivers' titles in 2011, 2012, and 2014, and the Gentlemen Trophy Team and Drivers' honours in 2013 and 2014.
In the European Le Mans Series, following the creation of a GTC class for GT3 machinery, the 458 GT3 won the GTC Team and Drivers' titles in both 2013 and 2014.
In the International GT Open, the car secured the GTS Team and Drivers' crowns in 2011, 2012, and 2014, and the GTS Manufacturers' title in 2012, 2013, and 2014. In 2014, 458 GT3 drivers also clinched the Overall and Super GT Drivers' titles in the same series.
In Asian GT competition, the car won the 2011 GT3 Asia Drivers' title and repeated with both Team and Drivers' honours in 2012 and 2014.
Among notable individual victories, the 458 Italia GT3 won the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps six times — two victories in the GT3 PRO AM category and two in the Gentlemen Trophy — as well as the Gulf 12 Hours on four occasions, including three overall wins. The car took back-to-back victories at the 12 Hours of Sepang in 2013 and 2014, two consecutive wins at the 24 Hours of Dubai in the A6-AM class in 2014 and 2015, the 2014 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour at Mount Panorama, and the 2014 24 Hours of Barcelona.
The car also won the 2011 FIA GT3 European Championship Drivers' title, and added the 2013 Asian Le Mans Series GTC Team and Drivers' honours. National success was extensive, with titles in the French GT, British GT, Italian GT, GTSprint, and Supercar Challenge championships.
A separate Grand-Am-specification version was developed in 2012 for the North American Grand-Am Rolex Series. The Grand-Am car weighs the same as the standard GT3 but produces less downforce and has a more restricted engine output of approximately 507 PS at an 8,000 rpm limit, combined with a conventional sequential manual gearbox rather than the dual-clutch unit. It also lacks the traction control and ABS systems present in the GT3 specification. The car debuted at the 2012 24 Hours of Daytona, and drivers Jeff Segal and Emil Assentato took the Grand-Am Rolex GT championship in 2012.
The 458 Italia GT3 was active in the Blancpain Endurance Series, European Le Mans Series, International GT Open, GT3 Asia, Pirelli World Challenge, Blancpain Sprint Series, Asian Le Mans Series, and Australian GT Championship throughout 2015. It was superseded by the Ferrari 488 GT3 for the 2016 season as Ferrari transitioned to the turbocharged 488 GTB platform. The car's record — spanning championships on every inhabited continent and top-flight endurance wins from Spa to Bathurst — established it as one of the benchmark customer GT3 racers of the early 2010s.