Ferrari 488 GTB and Car Throttle experience Stelvio Pass in Italy.
Automotive journalism is a surprising business. You can drive a new car every week and still miss out on certain makes and models. Take Car Throttle‘s Ethan Smale, for instance. He’s driven his fair share of vehicles, but had never gotten behind the wheel of a Ferrari…
…until recently. Ferrari decided to give him the keys to its 488 GTB. That’s a hell of a way to get introduced to the brand. So is getting the chance to open it up on the roads Smale took it on. Sure, taking the 660-horsepower mid-engined eye magnet around a racetrack would’ve been great, but Smale got access to a place arguably even cooler: the Stelvio Pass in the Eastern Alps of northern Italy.
Smale finds the 488 staggeringly quick and its responses even faster. The 488 ceases to be a machine to be used and becomes an able and communicative partner in the act of driving fast. Firing the 488 down the straights and through the dozens of hairpin turns is such an engaging and soul-stirring experience that it changes Smale’s life. When he was a kid, he didn’t fantasize about prancing horses and raging bulls. Instead, Smale thought about M3s and Audi quattros, more attainable cars. The 488 GTB proves to be so thrilling, so likable, that Smale has to reconsider his childhood priorities. He comes to the conclusion that he should’ve put driving a Ferrari on his to-do list a long time ago.
Being an automotive journalist may be full of surprises, but the epiphany Smale had on such a stunning road in the driver’s seat of such a powerful, finely honed vehicle certainly can’t be counted as one of them.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
