Ferrari has been working steadily on the Ferrari F450 production car, the successor to the F430, their best selling mid-engine V8 supercar to date. So far they have been on a roll. The F355, 360 Modena and the current F430 have all been widely touted and very successful for the car manufacturer.

In fact, the 380 horsepower Ferrari F355 that was produced between 1994 and 1999 saved Ferrari from the brink of bankruptcy. During those years it was available as a Gran Turismo Berlinetta (GTB), Targa (GTS) and roadster (Spider) with a 0 to 60 mph sprint time of just 4.9 seconds and a top speed of 183 mph.

The 400 horsepower Ferrari 360 Modena came along in 1999 and dropped the 0-60 mph time to 4.3 seconds, pushing top speed up to 185 mph. In 2000, the Ferrari 360 Challenge was release as a track variant to compete in Ferrari’s Challenge Championship series. The final version was released in 2003 as the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale. Sporting an engine rated at 425 bhp, its 0 to 60 mph acceleration time was in the 4.1 second range with a 186 mph top speed.

The Ferrari F430 was released in 2004, featuring a 490 hp engine capable of 4 second flat sprints from 0 to 60 mph with a top speed of 196 mph. Similar to the work Ferrari did with the 360, the F430 was also released in two additional variations – Challenge (490 hp) and Challenge Stradale (520 hp). However, in 2007 at the Frankfurt Auto Show, they released the Ferrari F430 Scuderia, a leaner (220 lbs weight reduction) and more powerful (508 hp) version capable of 0-60 mph in 3.1 seconds and a top speed of 198 mph.

Now, the Company is set to release the production version of the Ferrari F450 sometime next year. The name comes from the fact that the displacement will be bumped up to 4.5 liters. Look for engine output to be somewhere north of 500 bhp with a max rev limit around 10,000 rpm. As evidence by the progression over the last 15 years with this class of mid-engine V8 coupes, Ferrari may well take things up a notch once again. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Ferrari F450 best the Lamborghini Gallardo (5.0-liter V10 engine) at launch. Afterall, Ferrari is known for really squeezing out tremendous power from smaller displacements.

There are many different images shown here that represent renderings of what the finalized Ferrari F450 will look like along with a couple of spy shots. If we pay attention to the common denominator it appears as if the new car will have larger air intakes all around, a middle-mounted exhaust (similar to the Challenge Stradale) and a revised rear diffuser (seen in the spy shot below slapped on the back of the current F430).

Other notable features of the upcoming Ferrari F450 possibly include the seven-speed double clutch transmission from the California as well as KERS (kinetic energy recovery system) currently being introduced in Formula One racing (a process which transforms energy saved from braking into extra power).

Source: AutoExpress UK | AutoPlus | Wikipedia | CzechFerrari.Cz