Ferrari 458 M Spotting Testing

Here’s your first look at the Ferrari 458 successor, the turbocharged 458 M. It's been no secret the 458 power was going by way of turbo-power as Ferrari has confirmed many times over that it's next two-seat, mid-engine sports car from will tack on turbos. And the reason is simple: emissions.

Ferrari has already confirmed that CO2 emissions for the 458 successor (likely to be called the 458 Modificato, or 458 M, if past naming conventions are anything to judge by) must drop below even what the company achieved with the stupidly good and remarkably power-dense 458 Speciale, whose 133 hp-per-liter engine clearly won't survive the turbo transition. The way forward is turbos, no ifs or buts about it.

Reading between the lines, the 458 M will adopt a sensible power increase despite losing a bit in the displacement department, like it's California T sibling. It remains to be seen if the 458 M will get the California T's torque-limiting trickery – it might, but it will no doubt be differentiated as much as possible from the T's grand touring compromises.

The bottom line: Expect a slight displacement bump from the T (but a loss from the 458), power to compete with the McLaren 650S, and probably a bit of turbo lag to make it all work right.