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Hennessey twin-turbo Ferrari 458 boasts 738 hp, 0-60 in 2.8 seconds

Hennessey Performance Engineering, hot off the heels of its Bugatti Veyron-crushing Venom GT, set its sights on modifying one of the finer Ferrari models. The resulting HPE700 Twin Turbo 458 is a badder, faster 458 Italia with a twin-turbo upgrade that adds 168 horsepower to the already potent 4.5-liter V8. That's 738 hp, which, paired with the extra 134 pound-feet of torque, for a total of 532 lb-ft, is good for a 2.8-second 0-60 run.
Low-inertia ball-bearing turbochargers are used to boost the power, and an air-to-water intercooler makes sure the air surging into the combustion chambers is as cool and dense as possible. Twin wastegates and blow-off valves relieve extra boost pressure and, in addition to a new stainless-steel exhaust system, add some new noises to the 458's soundtrack. The V8 is boosted to a relatively mild 7 psi maximum and maintains 6 psi on its way up to redline. A reflash of the engine control unit brings the package together. HPE is confident enough about its wares that the $59,995 upgrade also comes with a one-year/12,000-mile warranty.
The HPE700 Twin Turbo 458 is set to be unveiled on Friday at the Concorso Italiano located at the Laguna Seca Golf Ranch, which is part of California's Monterey Car Week festivities. It also can be viewed on Saturday in the paddock at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the Monterey Historics Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion vintage car races. Check out the press release below for the full details, as well as a video of the Ferrari in action.

Ferrari return to Le Mans looking more likely?

Statements made by Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo may indicate that the Italian brand could return to a form of racing it's been absent from for 40 years - prototype racing. That's right, LMP1 could see a factory Ferrari team for the first time since 1973, if a report from ESPN F1 is to be believed.
"We have won with the 458 GTE, but I also quite like the idea of racing at Le Mans in the highest category: who knows, maybe one day we can return and win, say thanks and come home," Montezemolo said. "Maybe we should give it some consideration..."
These seemingly idle, off-hand comments might not hold much water, were rumors about Ferrari's return to prototype racing not swirling as recently as August. There's also the fact that the upcoming, 1.6-liter, turbocharged V6 being used for Formula One complies with the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's own LMP1 regulations, according to ESPN. Finally, Ferrari returning to Le Mans might also explain this video of a camouflaged Ferrari LaFerrari testing a new turbocharged engine, which we showed you a few weeks back. There's a fair chance that what we're actually seeing in that video are the early stages of a new Ferrari prototype testing.

Ferrari 488 GTB among the best car designs of 2016 [UPDATE]

Can't decide whether the Ferrari 488 GTB looks better than the 458 Italia it replaces? A design jury has make up its mind. The 2016 Red Dot design awards are being announced today, and Maranello's latest eight-cylinder, mid-engined supercar won top honors. The Red Dot Awards for Product Design recognize the best new products on the market across an array of categories and industries, including automobiles. This year's panel of 41 experts, including Chris Bangle and Ken Okuyama, evaluated some 5,200 designs. From those, they selected 1,304 for a Red Dot award, and only 79 as the "Best of the Best" – among them the new Ferrari. This is the second year in a row the Prancing Horse marque has been awarded the honor, having been earned an award for the FXX K last year. A full list of this year's honorees isn't yet available, and it's uncertain that other automakers will earn awards. Last year's list also included the Mazda MX-5, Mercedes-AMG GT, and Volvo XC90. The Peugeot 308 SW, if you can believe it, was the only car awarded Best of the Best in 2014, the Audi R8 in 2013, and the Renault Twizy in 2012. UPDATE: The Red Dot organization has released the full list of this year's product design honorees, with the McLaren 570S and Kia Optima also awarded among the Best of the Best. Red Dots were also awarded to the Audi A4, R8, and Q7, BMW 7 Series, M2, and X1, Fiat Toro, Hyundai Ioniq, Kia Sportage, Mercedes C-Class, Skoda Superb Estate, and Volvo S90. The jurists also gave Honorable Mentions to the Borgward BX 7, Genesis G90, Mini Clubman, Qoros 3 City SUV, and Smart Fortwo Cabriolet. The 488 GTB wins the Red Dot award The V8 sports car named "Best of the Best" Maranello, 30 March 2016 – The 488 GTB has won the Red Dot Best of the Best award for its design and innovative lines. This is the latest in string of plaudits garnered by the Ferrari Style Centre which also picked up several IF Design Awards in Munich, Germany, at the start of the month. On the latter occasion, the big winner was the FXX K (Red Dot Best of the Best 2015) which took home the Gold Award, the Hannover institute's top prize. However, the 488 GTB and 488 Spider also scored a double whammy at the same event with a Design Excellence Award apiece.