Ferrari F450 – due at Frankfurt in September ’09

As we all know, Ferrari is working on the replacement for its, up to now, best selling model the F430. The bread and butter car of the Ferrari range, the F430 sold in numbers previously only imagined by Ferrari. But the California has changed all that, and the replacement for the F430 – the Ferrari F450 – is going to have its work cut out to sell anything like the numbers Ferrari would like.

But the new Ferrari F450 is getting closer, and spy shots of the F450 have enabled Auto Express to come up with a rendering that is, we reckon, near as dammit to the finished article due to be shown at Frankfurt in September.

Sporting a pair of big side vents that have been enlarged to help the engine breathe and the brakes cool, the F450 is different enough to the F430 to set it apart as a new car – not just an evolution.

The F450 is going to have to go upmarket to compete with the likes of the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4, and in an effort to compete Ferrari has upped the capacity of the F430, increased the rev limit and produced an engine that, in the F450, should deliver something around 500bhp.

The new engine in the F450 will be mated to the 7-speed double clutch unit lifted straight out of the California, but with revised mapping to better suit the sportier nature of the F450. It is also rumoured that the F450 will get a version of KERS technology (which basically uses power generated by the car under braking to give a power boost). Straight out of Formula 1, the technology is very new and, if the Melbourne F1 Grand Prix is anything to judge by, not yet working at an optimum level. Still, by the time the F450 hits the roads next year it is likely the system will give a reliable power boost when needed.

It looks like the F430 will be the last mid-engined Ferrari to wear the ‘Cheapest Ferrari’ badge, but be in no doubt; the Ferrari F450 will be a stonking car!

Source: Auto Express