Ferrari referenced the F40 with the 458's triple exhaust design but it's taken Texan tuners Hennessey Performance to make good on that promise with a $60,000 twin-turbo conversion that pushes the Italia into the big league. How big? Hennessey is claiming 0-60 in 2.8 seconds and a 10.5-second/137mph quarter-mile. Top speed isn't quoted but can safely presumed to be adequate and some way beyond the standard car's 199mph.
What was it the 458 was lacking? Ah yes...
Whether Ferrari purists, or indeed Ferrari itself, approve probably doesn't require huge amounts of speculation. But the pairing of the 458's screaming V8 with forced induction has resulted in a car that on paper (and film) sounds like an absolute monster and, in pictures, looks like a remarkably resolved piece of work.
And if you crave a bit of F40 lunacy but can't quite ditch the modern creature comforts of a present day Ferrari it might be just the ticket.
You can read the full skinny on how Hennessey has gone about transforming the 458's 4.5-litre V8 from its standard normally aspirated 570hp and 398lb ft into a 738hp monster pushing 532lb ft of torque here on the firm's website. Suffice to say, the engineering work required is extensive and doesn't seem to have come at the expense of the 458's high-revving character, that peak power coming at 8,400rpm even at what sounds like a fairly modest 0.5bar of boost from the pair of turbos. Hennessey admits that much of the work is hidden beneath the carbon panelling but you can catch a glimpse what it describes as the "especially trick looking aluminum [sic] plenum that contains the air-to-water charge-cooler element." And it all comes with a one-year, 12,000-mile warranty too!
If the look is tasteful the performance is not!
For all the mechanical lunacy the visual modifications to the 458 Spider Hennessey has unveiled are surprisingly modest. There are no ugly vents or intakes, just a teasing hint of engorged exhaust system through the rear diffuser and a tasteful set of black 20-inch Hennessey forged wheels with the option of a KW adjustable suspension set-up and some carbon aero additions in due course. The car itself makes its public debut this week at Laguna Seca as part of the Monterey Weekend.
Meanwhile a lurid taste of what the HPE700 is like to drive can be found on the Hennessey site, courtesy of communications manager Doug Knott. He says, "Before the Hennessey update, the Ferrari's 4.5-liter V-8 was angry; now it's just flat p*ssed off and looking to vent its full fury on some innocent stretch of road." And if you want a taste of what that looks like there's a vid here.
Ferrari was not available for comment.
[Source, including pics and video: Hennessey Performance]