If you’re like us, you probably still nudge somebody whenever you see a Ferrari 458 Italia, or any of the Prancing Horses, as an example, but we need to recognize that, for many, merely owning one isn’t sufficient satisfaction. They want to leave their mark on the Maranello brand, personalizing their car to differentiate it through the others they will often stumble across.

To be fair, if you live within the larger population centers worldwide, your chances of an encounter using a similar Ferrari are significantly increased. So, los Angeles-based businessman, Rob Marley, owner of the Crooks & Castles (crooksncastles.com) clothing brand, wanted to ensure he always had the top hand in almost any impromptu meeting.along with a custom exhaust system boost output from the already potent 4.5L V8

Rob’s garage includes an E30 M3, E-Class wagon, RWB 911 and Ferrari 599, then when he bought this 2012 458 Italia, it had to compete for attention along with his other exotic machinery, being a certified car guy.

Initially, he was slated to obtain the first Liberty Walk widebody kit, but eventually decided he couldn’t bring himself to cut in to the 458’s sinuous flanks. So, while Wataru Kato from Liberty Walk would eventually buy their own car and get it appear center stage at 2013 SEMA show in the Nitto Tire booth, Rob still had a problem to resolve.

To his good fortune, another Japanese styling specialist called Super Veloce Racing also had a 458 body kit and was also looking to debut it at SEMA. As assoociates of Liberty Walk, Kato recommended Long Tran at LTMotorwerks (LTMW) to Nobuyuki Tani, owner of SVR in Kyoto, Japan.

LTMW was entrusted with building several Liberty Walk (LW) cars for the show, including its Nissan GTR, 458 Italia, BMW 335i and various M3s. In fact, the El Monte, CA-based BMW specialist would build thirteen different cars for various tuners and owners, with each making its mark at the Las Vegas spectacular.

2012 ferrari 458 italia SVR 458 R front bumper 09

2012 ferrari 458 italia SVR 458 R side blades 10

2012 ferrari 458 italia SVR 458 R rear bumper 08

With Tani needing a car for his SEMA debut, Long suggested the less radical conversion might suit Rob, so a deal was struck. In order to secure the car’s presence at the show, fortunately, it involved huge discount to the $30k carbon fiber body kit.

Estimating 3-4 days to paint and fit the Long, his and kit cohorts were able to squeeze in work on Rob’s Ferrari between the other projects, even finishing it ahead of schedule.

Fitted to his black 458 and partially painted to obscure the carbon fiber construction underneath, the SVR 458-R body kit is certainly more discreet compared to the Liberty Walk widebody, but still striking in its own right.

It included a replacement front bumper panel, which is a tremendous one-piece molding with a deeper front spoiler and larger ducting. It has a separate carbon fiber splitter, which remains unpainted in their raw carbon state, along with the center section in thefor example the carbon blades fitted to the side of the car. Again unpainted, these were bolted under the car using longer bolts into the bottom of the factory side skirt mounts. At the rear, SVR designed another deep bumper that included vents behind the back wheels and deleted the stock diffuser. However, it provides a separate carbon undertray that has smaller fins to channel the airflow.

Its center section highlights the carbon weave and the distinctive three tailpipes that form element of a custom titanium exhaust that was fabricated for LTMW. It’s element of an incredibly expensive system that snakes in the engine bay and contains a remote-controlled valve to allow Rob to select either a discreet exhaust note or one that makes your ears bleed.

The SVR 458-R kit would typically be completed using a huge carbon fiber rear wing – so large it has to be mounted to the subframe through slots in the rear bumper. These slots may be covered when the wing isn’t in use. In fact, Rob doesn’t like utilizing it since the wing generates so much downforce it really makes the car slower on anything although the racetrack.

He additionally has the Liberty Walk widebody rear spoiler, but additionally chose not to use it since both items significantly reduce his limited rear visibility.finished and wrapped in wide Nitto rubber.

With the body styling fitted, the car would need the correct stance to carry from the conversion, so a set of Novitec Rosso coil springs were ordered from your US distributor for the German Ferrari tuning brand. These mount within the factory coilovers to allow the ride height to be altered.

The car will be lowered into the staggered 20 HRE Vintage Series 501 wheels. Carefully measured, the offsets will be 38 front, 50 rear, with 1 and 2.5 outer lips, respectively. The wheels were finished with matte black centers, gloss black rims and titanium ARP fasteners. Tires are suitably huge Nitto Invos with lettered sidewalls that also spell out CRKS to acknowledge Crooks & Castles.

With the paint drying in the Las Vegas sun, Rob’s 458 Italia went on display at SEMA. Unfortunately for Tani-san, it was actually parked outdoors for the week-long event. However, he been able to overcome the temperature and sell an undisclosed number of body kits, making all the effort worthwhile.

In addition to the 458-R kit, SVR also offers a less costly lip kit for the similar car, in addition to styling for the 430 and 360, so check out their website at auto-veloce.com for details. If you wish to order a kit and have it fitted, contact Long Tran at ltmotorwerks.com