Ferrari F450 Caught While Testing

ferrari_f450-i1New shots of the F450 have landed, revealing the first look at Ferrari’s replacement for the venerable F430. An almost production version of the upcoming Ferrari F450 has been spotted testing before its official debut this September at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

Despite the heavy camouflaging, the F450 prototype spied here does reveal a few new design elements. Can we expect the Italian automaker planning on bringing their turbo hybrid al wheel drive technology to market sooner than expected?

The Ferrari F450 will be powered by a 4.6 Liter V8 that will put out 520 HP and make the future Ferrari F450 more powerful than the F430 Scuderia. The Ferrari F450’s less weight means that it should be faster as well.

The F450 is expected to develop over 375kW, delivered to the wheels through a high-performance variant of the seven-speed gearbox used in the Ferrari California convertible. There are larger outboard tail-lights, while the seemingly vacant inboard spaces would indicate that either the F450 will feature only two single tail-light housings. Or the inboard lights may be much smaller. There’s a larger centre-mounted exhaust at the rear, and the wheelbase is slightly longer. The F450 is expected to have a wider track at both ends.

Beyond performance, the F450 is also expected to be Ferrari’s first production model to utilise eco-friendly materials, with weight-saving and a greener image the driving forces behind this new move.