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Ferrari 458 Italia to switch to turbo V8 for 2015 facelift – report

When the Ferrari 458 Italia receives a facelift next year it will sport a turbocharged V8 petrol motor as standard, according to reports out of the UK.


Dubbed internally as the Ferrari 458M, the updated car will use a heavily modified version of the 3.9-litre twin-turbocharged V8 that powers the California T. While the turbo California has 412kW of power and an eye-popping 755Nm of torque at its disposal, Car magazine claims that the 458M's motor will produce around 500kW.

For reference, run-of-the-mill 458 coupe and spider variants currently utilise a 419kW/450Nm 4.5-litre V8. The 458 Speciale has a 445kW version of that motor at its heart.

Top Gear quotes Amedeo Felisa, Ferrari's CEO, as saying that the 458M's engine will rev higher and be larger than the California T's. It's also likely that the motor in the 458M will feature larger turbos and dry sump lubrication.

Speculation is that the facelift that will accompany the 458's heart transplant will be quite mild. It certainly won't be as extensive as the California's transformation into the California T, where every exterior body panel except the roof was altered. Indeed many of the styling changes are driven by the need to feed air into the car's intercoolers.

If these reports turn out to be correct, the Ferrari 458 will join a long line cars that are switching to smaller turbocharged engines, many with fewer cylinders, in the quest to improve both fuel economy and lower carbon emissions.

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