2015 Ferrari 458 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

World Car of the Year finalists announced

To say the 2014 Geneva Motor Show was packed full of news is an understatement as big as the show's home at the Palexpo convention center. Despite everything that we were able to cover during this year's show, there's still more coming out of Switzerland, including the announcement of the finalists for the 2014 World Car of the Year Awards.
We reported on the original list of finalists over three weeks ago, and now, that initial list has been pared down to three finalists for each of the five awards. The finalists were announced at a press conference by frequent Autoblog contributor and co-chair of the awards, Matt Davis (above).
The finalists for the overall title of 2014 World Car of the Year are the Audi A3, the BMW 4 Series and the Mazda3. The World Luxury Car of the Year will be either the Bentley Flying Spur, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class or the Land Rover Range Rover Sport, while the Performance Car of the Year will be awarded to the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, the Ferrari 458 Speciale or the Porsche 911 GT3 (which, um, yeah...).

Ferrari CEO confirms hybrid model will be revealed this month

Ferrari confirmed it's going to reveal a hybrid supercar before the month is over in its Q1 2019 financial call. CEO, Louis Camilleri made the statement. "The second model will be presented at the end of this month, with the world premiere held here in Maranello. As we have stated previously, it will be a top-of-the-line hybrid with supercar performance and a true beauty," Camilleri said. The Motley Fool posted a transcript of the entire earnings call online, and Motor1 initially reported the news. We knew a hybrid supercar was on its way, but now we know it's for sure happening this month from Maranello. The most recent rumors and reports concerning this car was that it would be a twin-turbo V6 with a combined system output of 723 horsepower and 800 pound-feet of torque. A V8 hybrid powertrain in a different model is also expected to be revealed at some point, but that's reportedly going to come after the V6. Camilleri went on to say that this car "will be above the 812 Superfast. So it's not a 488 replacement per se." The 812 Superfast has supercar performance from its 6.5-liter V12, but it's more of a grand tourer in the Ferrari lineup. And the F8 Tributo was just released as the 488 GTB's successor, so it's more likely to be similar to the 812 with a different powertrain. Sitting above the 812 Superfast is no small chore, though, as that car makes 789 earth-shattering horsepower and 530 pound-feet of torque. Ferrari has dabbled in a hybrid powertrain before with the LaFerrari. That car had a 6.3-liter V12 supplemented by a HY-KERS unit, providing an extra 161 horsepower and 199 pound-feet of torque from its electric motor for a grand total of 950 ponies and 715 pound-feet of torque. This hybrid Ferrari will certainly be less powerful than that, but we don't know exact layout or function of the new system Ferrari is going to use yet. Watch out toward the end of May for this electrified Ferrari to finally make its debut.

Ferrari's 986-hp mid-engine hybrid supercar stays bundled up in spy shots

With less than a week to go until its debut for VIP clients, Ferrari remains engaged in testing its hybrid V8 supercar. As these spy shots show, the Italian carmaker still insists on giving nothing away. The photographer wasn't able to figure out any more details, noting only that the camo panels were decorated with yellow triangles warning of electric shocks. The last intel we got came from Auto, Motor und Sport, the German magazine predicting 1,000 PS (metric horsepower), which is 986 of our ponies. That grunt would come from the 3.9-liter twin-turbo V8 borrowed from the F8 Tributo, and three electric motors — two on the front axles, one in the gearbox. All-wheel drive and instant torque would get the coupe from zero to 62 miles per hour in no more than 2 seconds, and cornering prowess will increase thanks to e-motor torque vectoring. Another stroll through the FerrariChat forum says power might be more than the 1,000 CV (cheveaux — metric horsepower again, but in French) indicated even on Ferrari's invitation to the launch event. A member wrote, "The current numbers doing the rounds are 1,050 — 1,100," bettors guessing 720 hp from the V8, roughly 200 combined horses from the front axle motors, and anywhere from 150 to 180 hp from the gearbox unit. That would be 1,080 hp at most, which is 1,095 CV. The looks are inscrutable. It's clear the door handles are in a different place, above the shoulder line, the front brakes calipers are mighty, and the headlights reveal some severe lines. The motorcycle rider who chased the coupe through the hills above Maranello said he saw squared taillights, but allowed that it could have been the shape of the camouflage openings. A Ferrari owners group from France visited the factory and apparently saw the complete bodywork for the hybrid coupe codenamed F173, describing the car as "wide and flat" with "huge rounded intakes" like half circles, a red body and a black glasshouse. On a side note, they also saw the 812 Spider bodywork, and said it's beautiful. Finally, another FC poster wrote that "the name has been already decided and there are very few chances that it will be changed. It will remind us of a Ferrari model launched years ago and also an actual car, a fast one." Depending on when Ferrari plans a public debut, we have anywhere from six days to three weeks left to play with this puzzle.