PARIS MOTOR SHOW: Ferrari 458M
Prancing Horse's 458 replacement to emerge with circa-495kW/850Nm downsized turbo V8 in a little over a monthThe turbo thing is starting to gain momentum at Ferrari, with the 458 coupe about to follow the front-engined California down the force-fed V8 road.
Ferrari will debut its upgraded version of the 458, complete with a twin-turbo V8 mounted behind the driver, at the Paris motor show on October 2, sources have revealed.
Due on sale early next year and spied recently in testing, the 458M will get a higher revving, hard-core version of the 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 from the California that will make its entry-level supercar not only faster, but more economical as well.
The engine pumps out 412kW of power in the upgraded California T convertible, but sources at Maranello say the 458M will slam down closer to 495kW – up to 75kW more than its predecessor (425kW in the 458 Italia coupe and 419kW in the 458 Spider, both of which churn out 540Nm of torque).
It should be enough to pull the 458M’s sprint to 100km/h down perilously close to three seconds, while a 0-200 km/h sprint below 10 seconds is a realistic goal and a top speed in excess of at least 330 km/h is also predicted.
The car will come on the heels of the controversial decision at Lamborghini to retain a development of the Gallardo’s 5.2-litre, naturally-aspirated V10 for the 458’s key rival, the Huracan.
With the death of Ferrari's 9000rpm 4.5-litre V8, it’s clear the march of the turbos is becoming inexorable at Ferrari. Apart from building biturbo V6s and V8s for Maserati, Maranello will soon make turbo engines for the California, the 458M and the LaFerrari.
As with the California, one of the huge gains will be in torque, with the 458M expected to have close to 850Nm of torque – at least 300Nm more than the car it replaces.
However, as in the California, Ferrari will unleash all of it only in the 458M's bigger gears, where it can be used for drive more than tyre destruction.
It is said to take plenty of engineering and aerodynamic tweaks from the 458 Speciale, too, including axing the three-outlet exhaust arrangement of the existing 458 (pictured).
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