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Ferrari planning 458 Speciale Spider?

The Ferrari 458 comes from a long line of mid-engined V8 supercars to roll out of Maranello, from the 348 and F355 to the 360 and F430. Each has also bred a Spider version, and starting with the 360 Challenge Stradale (through the 430 Scuderia and 458 Speciale), a hardcore performance version. But combining the best attributes of Spider and performance model is relatively new territory for Ferrari, one which it attempted only with the limited-production Scuderia Spider 16M. And if the latest rumors are to be believed, it's about to go at it again.
Though we can't verify its sources, 4WheelsNews says it has double confirmation from within Ferrari that a 458 Speciale Spider is in the works. When reached for confirmation, Ferrari refused to comment, as it typically does on the prospect of new models yet to be announced. Given the precedent of the Scuderia Spider 16M, it would seem to make sense, but for the time being we'll have to chalk this one up as a rumor.
If it were built, the Ferrari 458 Scuderia Spider (or whatever it would ultimately be called) would take the best of the 458 Spider and 458 Speciale to pack the 600-horsepower version of Maranello's sweet-revving 4.5-liter V8 underneath a folding hardtop. The latter is something the 16M did not offer, but crucially, the new McLaren 650S Spider does. We'd also expect only a limited number to be produced at a suitable premium over the Spider's $257k MSRP and the Speciale's $288k sticker.

Petrolicious gets super Seventies in a Ferrari Dino 208 GT4

The Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 was the automaker's first sports car with a V8 mounted amidships, and that formula quickly became the Italian automaker's bread and butter. The 308 in the name denotes a 3.0-liter V8, but for the Italian market, where a tax was imposed on cars with engines larger than two liters, Ferrari decided to de-bore the V8 to avoid the tax. Thus the 2.0-liter Dino 208 GT4 was born, and New York resident Bradley Price likes his 1976 model just the way it is.
Price initially was attracted to the Bertone-styled wedge because it "fit into the whole aesthetic of the space age and of the boundless possibility of [the late 1960s and 1970s]," he says in the Petrolicious video, adding that the opening scene of the original The Italian Job struck a chord with him, and the feeling never left. With 170 horsepower on tap, the 208 isn't very quick, but, in his opinion, it has a sweeter song than the bigger V8 and the driver-centric interior is one of his favorites.
Watch Price snake the original wedge through some East Coast back roads in the video below, and, just for kicks, we've also included the opening sequence of The Italian Job.

Drive inks 10-episode deal with NBC Sports Network

Today is a good day for Chris Harris, Mike Spinelli and Matt Farah, the hosts of the entertaining YouTube series Drive. The show has officially moved from the world of online video and become an actual, honest-to-goodness television show.
In addition to its YouTube exploits, which will continue, ten episodes of the show will air on the NBC Sports Network. The debut will run this Saturday, and coincide with NBCSN's coverage of the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix. From the sounds of it, this first episode should be unlike anything the trio could do on the Internet.
The team is going on a Top Gear-like trans-European adventure in a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series, a Ferrari F12 and a McLaren 650S. The three will converge on Monaco, and explore the legendary atmosphere that surrounds the principality when the Formula One World Championship rolls into town.