Competition to celebrate the 16th won it last year built the Ferrari 430 Scuderia Spider 16M, an F430 with all droptop GO-Fast parts of the 430 Scuderia. These include a higher compression-bit version of the 4.3-liter V-8 makes 503 horsepower and 347 lb-ft torque (80 percent of which is at 3,000 rpm), a race-tuned suspension, service-dish-sized carbon – ceramic braking occurs, and the F1 Superfast2 automated manual one to two shifts in 60 milliseconds. As in the 430 Scuderia is deprived of all the interior comfort features. Carbon fiber and aluminum line of the cab. There is no carpet, only diamond-plate aluminum-style on the floor, accented by exposed seams. The carbon-framed seats are covered with cloth to save weight and provide only for manual and aft and backrest angle adjustment. The doors are fitted with carbon fiber and color.

Ferrari calls the 458’s 4.5-liter, dry-sump, flat-plane-crank V-8 the F136FB, part of the family that includes the F136I in the California model and the F136E in the outgoing F430. All share bore centers and block basics, though only with the FB does Ferrari claim a world record for specific output in a nonturbo production engine: 125 horsepower and 89 pound-feet of torque per liter. Three developments were vital: direct fuel injection, friction reduction, and better breathing. The 2900-psi injection system and shell-shaped piston crowns tailor the injection charge to be rich at the plug and lean elsewhere, cooling down combustion temperatures and allowing the lofty, 12.5:1 compression ratio that better harnesses the fuel’s energy.

Piston skirts receive a graphite coating to reduce friction, and tappets get a slippery DLC, or “diamond-like carbon,” coating developed for F1 engines. Deep in the block, pumping losses are stemmed by employing three electric scavenge pumps, one for the inner-four piston bays and one each for the outer four.