Ferrari F450 Test Mule Spied Up Close During Winter Testing

 Ferrari F450 Test Mule Spied Up Close During Winter Testing
Ferrari F450 prototype spy photo / CarPix

Further spy images of the forthcoming Ferrari F450 have emerged. The test mule was shot while testing in Sweden in conditions which are not ideal for a rear-wheel-driven Ferrari. Nevertheless, ice-cold circumstances are part of the development process if reliability under any kind of weather is to be claimed.

Boasting over 500hp the F450 is even rumoured to have a higher power output than the 520hp F430 Scuderia. Ferrari will use the same double-clutch gearbox from the California for the F450 to double-up with the envisaged 4.5-litre V8. How the global financial difficulty has affected the scarlet marque will be seen in the F450 through possible technologies like a road car version of KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems).

The mule in these pictures may be disguised as an F430 but the differences are easy to spot; wider fenders, the air scoops and that centrally-mounted exhaust pipe give the guessing game away.

Ferrari has apparently codenamed the car F142 and it is expected to make its first public showing at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2009. Deliveries would then commence just over a year from now.

 

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 Joe_Limon Joe_Limon
I know it's just a mule, but is that really duct tape? wow! Now I really want to one day work for them.
March 16, 2009 11:08 pm
 steelerfan2009 steelerfan2009
mules are pretty slapped together,i guess their testing the engine in this one. cant wait to see what its going to look like i hope its something completely different than their recent stuff.
March 16, 2009 11:25 pm
 DolceRides DolceRides
ehats with the big tailights?
March 17, 2009 2:16 am
 zdenda20 zdenda20
Seems to me that only 1 of the double rear lights is functional? Also, there is only one large exhaust pipe in the middle...hope they will put 4 exhaust pipes + 4 rear lights!
March 17, 2009 4:23 am
 kimbo kimbo
no middle finger from the ferrari test driver? xD
March 17, 2009 7:47 am
 Imasa Imasa
Looks like its going to have a Murcielago type exhaust. Lambo is giving Ferrari a run for its money.
March 17, 2009 10:29 am
 Renegade Renegade
Will this be able to beat the GT-R and ZR1? will the NSX will still come to mess thing up? how much we will have to wait for the next gen Gallardo and Mazda RX-7? how the BMW Z9, Z10 ,M1......M10....MXX999 will be like? will Ford produce a new supercar(I'm still waiting to see the Shelby GR-1 in production)?what about the Viper's future? well the years to come will be pretty exciting in the supercar world, damn I wish I had a crystal ball.
March 17, 2009 11:53 am
 Aesthetics Aesthetics
i think ferrari should go all carbon fiber body on their aluminium frame, just to create some crazy performance figures with that new 450 engine
March 18, 2009 12:08 am
 Sedaer Sedaer
If you think about it a 4.5 isnt much bigger than 4.3 so there must be a nuclear turbo involved in that engine bay.
March 25, 2009 4:47 pm