Very believeable since new car develop costs are astronomical and are especially so in a bad economy. Sheet metal changes are much cheaper.
Will they be dropping the 'F' from F430 successor? It seems they would by looking back....348/F355/360/F430/etc.
i think its going to have a twin turbo engine. f executives have been stating goal of better 'efficiency' for future models and i cant see how more displacement or cylinders can acheive that even with direct injection. new model may be lighter and faster, but a turbo will never compare to NA. scud will be the best series made ferrari made for quite some time.
I can´t believe it,the pics on post 39 and 60 was taken by me the last week in Maranello, I only uploaded it in my Facebook...,and I only send it to a friend this afternoon, I´m not angry with the person who uploaded here the pics becuse it doesn´t mind me, I´m only surprise for see it here... Ciao! Pablo.
Ferrari F450 will appear at Frankfurt Thursday, February 12, 2009 From AUTOCAR Ferrari will unveil its F430 replacement at Frankfurt in October, giving its biggest-selling model a life of just five years. Code-named Ferrari F142 and expected to be christened Ferrari F450 in production, the new V8-powered car will be largely new, with few carryover components in the chassis or bodywork. While it was only released in 2004, the Ferrari F430s chassis was heavily based on the 360 Modena whose parts dated back to 1999. Production of F430s has slowed recently, ahead of the F450s start-of-production in July. Insiders who have seen the F450 insist it is one of the most beautiful Ferraris in years. While details on the car are scant, it will run an enlarged version of the F430s V8, equipped with direct injection giving an output of more than 500bhp from its 4.5-litre capacity, hence the F450 moniker. The transmission will be a variant of the seven-speed dual-clutch system shared with the new California. Linked to Ferraris steering-wheel mounted manettino control, the dual-clutch transmission promises drivers a choice between quick sporty changes and relaxed automatic operation. Ferrari has been working hard on weight reduction with its suppliers and the F450 is expected to take Alcoas advances in aluminium chassis technology to new heights. Sources also suggest the F450 is already as fast around the Fiorano test track as the compromise-free F430 Scuderia. But it will also ride more firmly than the Ferrari California, leaving buyers in no doubt about the focus of either car. European Ferrari F450 sales are expected to begin late this year or early in 2010. Michael Taylor
Interesting, that the DC gearbox is being used as I have read in many sources that the F1 would prevail on the more sporty cars and the DC will be reserved for the less sporty cars like the Cali
"the F450 is already as fast around the Fiorano test track as the compromise-free F430 Scuderia." This sentence is interesting!
"Insiders who have seen the F450 insist it is one of the most beautiful Ferraris in years." Not again...we heard the same thing about the California. CH
That is dissappointing.I bet that the car is not so light.Why? The car is as fast as 430 Scuderia but with more power, better engine(DI) and faster gear-change.....so it has to weight a lot more then Scuderia. So they had the possibility to use the same weight-costing metods as 430 scuderia in a new car, they use a better engine and a faster gearbox and they are just as fast as Scuderia. That's for sure is not evolution!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope that media is wrong.(and i know how little media knows about ferrari).
I'm very confused by this. Factory code names refer to the car's engines. The California, for example, was F149. Even if this were to refer to the F430 replacement's chassis type instead of its engine type, it still doesn't fit. The Enzo is F140B (chassis type F140), the 599 is 140C (chassis type F141). The 360 is F131B (chassis type F131), the F430 is F136 E (chassis type F131E). F142 would fit in line with the next V12, or the next super car/Enzo replacement.
The first reference here to F142 was (I think) nearly two years ago on March 22 2007 - its a bit late to start complaining now !
Plus, Ford already uses the name "F-450" for their giant dually pick-up truck. The name "F450" is not going to work well on google searches. When you're searching for a great pic of the new Ferrari F450, you might get a few search results like the pic below. I hope Ferrari makes the model name more unique somehow. Image Unavailable, Please Login
LOL, never saw it the first time. Perhaps Ferrari should go back to names that follow cylinder displacement instead of engine displacement.
When they still did that, Ferrari only had V12 engines. It wouldn't work now. The V8s would be called about the same as the V12s. Overall displacement is a better scheme. Example: The 430 would be the 537, the 450 would be called the 562 and the 599 would be 500.
The only thing I still am wondering about is the Gearbox not being the F1, everything else sounds right. As far as Looks, a certain person on Ferrari Chat has stated it is a very good looking model.