OFFICIAL! - Ferrari presents the new 458 Italia

It's been a while since people have started talking about the replacement for Ferrari F430 Modena. There have even been some photographs of the car being tested, but now we have official information on the new car. It will be called 458 Italia.



The new car is the first Ferrari equipped with a direct fuel injection engine, something that will help the Italian automaker reduce consumption with no compromise to performance. The new engine used by Ferrari 458 Italia is an all-aluminium 4.5-litre (4,499 cm³) V8 that generates 570 bhp at 9,000 rpm and 540 Nm at 6,000 rpm. Also new is the seven-speed dual clutch transmission with automated gearshifts, a sort of gearbox that will soon be seen in all Fiat vehicles.

Ferrari 458 (displacement and number of cylinders) Italia is 4.53 m long, 1.94 m wide, 1.21 m tall and counts on a wheelbase of 2.65 m. Its dry weight is 1,380 kg, what gives the car a power-to-weight ration of 2.42 kg/bhp. Weight distribution is 42% at the front and 58% at the rear, for better traction, considering the car is rear wheel drive. Tyres are 235/35 ZR 20 in front and 295/35 ZR20 at the back. Top speed is 325 km/h and acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h is 3.4 s.

The new car also features its E-Diff and F1-Trac controlled by the same ECU, what improves longitudinal acceleration out of corners. As expected, the brakes are also much better than in F430. High performance ABS and a system that maximizes braking speed has lowered 100 km/h-0 stopping distance to 32.5 m.

The new car will be present at the Frankfurt Motor Show this year. There is no word on when sales will begin, but we believe they will happen soon after the car presentation.





Source: Ferrari

What would a 1967 Ferrari Dino 246 GT look like today? Paolo Rosa answers with Dino Rosa

Some incredible cars always makes us wonder what would have happened if they had cars that succeeded them. The 1967 Ferrari Dino is certainly one of them. Luckily, there are designers that once in a while try to answer how these cars would look nowadays. Paolo Rosa has done that for Ferrari Dino and came up with Ferrari Dino Rosa Concept, unfortunately only a 1:10 scale model presented at the "Sognando l'automobile" ("Dreaming the automobile") exhibition. It is being hosted by the Museo dell'Automobile Bonfanti-Vimar, in Italy, since April 5 and will be open until Octobre 4.



Although the idea of the exhibition is to present old time toys and scale models, Rosa's concept did not emerge as something to play with, but as a real design work, with feasibility studies for bodywork components, for example. It is a pity the car will probably remain as a scale model, even because it had the intention of reinterpreting the spirit of the original Dino. Taking into consideration the result, it has managed to accomplish its objective.




Source: Car Body Design

Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, the most expensive car of the world, reaches 9.02 million euros in auction

In May 2008, a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder sold for 7.04 million euros, what made it become the world's most expensive car. Ever. In May 2009, another Ferrari, but this time a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa sold for an even higher price, 9.02 million euros. The title of most expensive car of the world, as you may have already figured out, is now in other hands.



It is no surprise the 250 Testa Rossa has reached this price. It was designed by Carrozzeria Scaglietti and only 22 units of it were ever produced. These cars were used in 19 international races and won 10 of them, what made the unit that was auctioned especially interesting for car collectors all over the world. RM Auctions did not reveal the name or from where the winning biddor was, what is no surprise at all, considering the car's price. Anyway, we are almost sure to hear from it again in this year's edition of Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

The most expensive car of the world has a V12 engine with 2,953 cm³ and six Weber 38 DCN carburettors to produce 300 bhp at 7,200 rpm, conducted by a four speed manual transmission. Although the car could surely accelerate a lot, its four drum brakes were also sure to heat up and lose efficiency as fast as the car could hit 100 km/h. This is certainly what made some of the guys that have driven this machine be considered heroes. Or totally out of their minds...
















Source: RM Auctions

NOVITEC presents its first car, TuLesto, a very fine-tuned F430

NOVITEC has presented today what it calls its first proprietary car, the TuLesto. Anyway, if don't even have to pay careful attention to it to see this is a Ferrari F430 that has gone through several changes, but still presents that typical Italian way.



NOVITEC will always be able to claim this Italian flair comes from Luca Serafini Stile design studio, which has helped the German tuning company create TuLesto, but that 4.4-litre V8 engine, even pumping out 777 cv (571.8 kW) at 8,200 rpm and 727 Nm at 6,300 rpm with the help of two turbochargers, does not deny it was based on the 4.3-litre V8 from Ferrari.

The car may not be as original as NOVITEC would like it to be, but still drives a lot of attention, especially because only 11 of them will ever be built. Apart from that, the car reaches 100 km/h from standstill in 3.4 s and weighs 1,259 kg. Top speed is above 350 km/h, but the company does not inform how much above that the top speed goes. The interior of the car will be personalised to each of the customers, chosen from the ones that have been with NOVITEC for a long time.

TuLesto is 4.62 m long, 2.04 m wide and 1.22 m tall, a little bigger than F430, and presents 20-inch wheels in front and 21-inch wheels, with up to 355 mm semislick tyres, at the back.








Source: Novitec