SPY PICS: Ferrari 458 goes turbo

The replacement for Ferrari's staple supercar, the mid-engined two-seat 458 Italia coupe, has been spotted for the first time.

Concealed front and side bodywork confirm the 458 successor – likely to be badged as the 458 Modificato, or 458 M, if past naming convention is any guide – will look at least a little different.

But it's underneath where the major changes will occur. Ferrari has confirmed that all of its future models will be either turbocharged or hybrid, with V12 models to gain electric assistance and V8 models to be force-fed and downsized.

So despite insisting for many years that only naturally aspirated engines can provide the sound and throttle response the red-blooded Italian brand is famous for, Ferrari is now following the likes of McLaren, BMW M, Mercedes AMG and Audi RS by fitting its V8s with turbos and, in the case of the FF and F12, its V12s with electric motors.

The first fruit of this emissions-reduction strategy, which aims to cut Ferrari's current fleet-wide CO2 output of 270g/km by 20 per cent by 2021, is the California T – the first force-fed Ferrari since the 1980s F40.

The 458 M powertrain will be heavily based on that of the California T, which gained a power boost to 412kW (up 14 per cent) and torque hike to 755Nm (+56 per cent) by switching from a 4.3-litre atmo V8 to a version of the 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 first seen in the Maserati Quattroporte.

Apart from more power and torque, the new engine is claimed to cut fuel consumption by 15 per cent.

Although its exact outputs are unknown, the new 458 M engine will follow that trend by delivering more performance and efficiency than the 425kW/540Nm 4.5-litre V8 it replaces in the existing 458, which consumes 3.3L/100km on 98 RON premium unleaded.

The 458 M is the next instalment in Ferrari's five-year plan to produce a new model every year between now and 2018.