Some manufacturers succumb quite easily to the understandable temptation to play it safe when it comes to replacing a successful, class-leading car. The temptation must have been almost overwhelming for the chaps at Ferrari to knock off early and go down the local for a cheeky espresso. The F430 was a fine car?the 458, though, has gone and upped the ante.
It has moved on a step in almost every respect - 562bhp means 0-60 in 3.24 seconds and an astonishing 202mph top speed. If you are just after a spot of posing then really the California is your car. The 458 has been designed and built with some serious driving in mind.
The powerful mid-mounted engine revs right up to 9,000rpm and the gearbox is the now traditional twin-clutch number with flappy paddles that Ferrari continues to refine along with the manettino steering wheel adjuster - both systems get better with every iteration, though they were never BMW iDrive bad.
When it came to updating an already-accomplished package, it seems the F430 has been on the Special K - the 458's weight is beautifully balanced and it looks fantastic in its carbon fibre swimsuit. The exterior design has been tweaked all over for optimum aerodynamics.
This car is extremely focused, and you will know that just by looking at it. It is not a graceful or elegant Ferrari like those of yore - the purists might be upset that there is no manual gearbox and that the styling is a touch clinical, but this car is so relentless in its pursuits that it cannot fail to win you over.
The interior is as plush and stylish as ever, but you can't imagine Ferrari dropping the ball and sending a car out of the factory with a creaking Daihatsu dashboard or stinking of adhesive like a TVR. The quality status quo here remains the best that exotic Italian supercars have to offer - the cabin has a powerful sense of occasion about it.
The big change in the interior is that it is borderline sensible in its layout - such thinking has long been superfluous in Ferrari design. It is almost disturbing to have borderline intuitive innards when Ferraris have so often been wilfully bonkers. The biggest shock about the 458, however, is that it's as quick as an Enzo around Fiorano, Ferrari's test track - a clear sign of the 458's tunnel vision and ambition.