There's been a lot of commotion around Ferrari's decision to turbocharge the California, one that created a new departure from the company's naturally aspirated leanings. If you're among those that got a little upset over the forced induction treatment received by the California, despite huge torque gains, then you'd better buckle up because the Italians are planning yet another switch.
According to CAR, who got its ears on some precious info circulating around Maranello, the 458 Italia is the next Ferrari to benefit from turbocharging. Specifically, Ferrari engineers are no longer looking to squeeze more power from the familiar 4.5-liter V-8 unit, but to replace it altogether with the 3.8-liter powerplant that debuted in the California T. Of course, the mid-engined Prancing Horse will receive more than just the 560 ponies powering the latter.
Word has it the next 458 Italia - reportedly dubbed the M458-T - will pack as much as 670 bhp (680 horsepower), meaning the Italians are trying to regain the precious crown they lost right after McLaren unleashed the staggering 650S. Since adding more than 100 ponies to a twin-turbo powerplant via boost pressure shouldn't be a problem for the sharp-witted folks at Maranello, we expect the upgraded sports car to be a lot faster than the current model, with the 0-to-60 benchmark to drop from 3.4 seconds to the high 2-second arena.
The M458-T will also benefit from the company's latest developments in terms of technology, CAR adds without revealing any specific details, but expect some fuel-saving and turbo lag-eliminating tricks.
Scheduled to break cover in 2015, the turbocharged 458 must be undergoing extensive testing as we speak. With that in mind, it's very likely that the mule our spy photographers spotted earlier this year had a forced-induction unit under its rear glass. Hopefully, we'll find out more about that soon enough.
Updated 02/02/2015: Ferrari unveiled a series of teaser images for the future M458-T, which of course reveal pretty much nothing of the car, but announced an official debut will be made tomorrow. A teaser video was also dropped, and while it also reveals nothing about the car, it gives a pretty good idea of how the engine will sound. Stay tuned!
Click past the jump to read more about the 2015 Ferrari M458-T.
Ferrari M458-T originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 2 February 2015 12:00 EST.
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