Novitec Rosso claims to be “the world’s leading tuner of sports cars from Maranello.” Standard Ferraris are hardly in a detuned state when exit out of the gates of Maranello in the first place so extracting more power out of their engines is a feat indeed. The easiest way of course is force inducing Ferrari’s range of naturally aspirated engines with either a turbocharger or as in this case, a supercharger.

This in itself would increase power substantially over the standard engine but Novitec Rosso has decided to fit not one but two superchargers to the F430’s 4.3L V8 engine to create the “RACE” specification tune. Novitec Rosso had already released a version of this engine which produced an astonishing 656hp but their RACE specification ups this by another 51hp making a rather generous 707hp at 8,350 rpm. Torque also increases to an equally impressive 712Nm at a 6,300 rpm, which enables any Novitec Rosso RACE kitted Ferrari 430 to hit 100kph in 3.5 seconds and, depending on gearing, top 348kph. Phew, serious numbers indeed.

To enable Novitec Rosso to extract the extra power, its engineers had to change the turbine vanes on the supercharger and increase boost to 0.48 bar. All this extra boosted air needs to be cooled and set of two large water to air intercoolers do the job nicely. The increased amount of air entering the cylinders is of no use if there is not the requisite amount of fuel to be combusted. To cope, Novitec Rosso engineers have used bigger fuel injectors. Both the intake system and the exhaust side have had extensive modifications to cope with the extra mass flow through the engine.

Cooling, suspension and braking systems have all had Novitec Rosso upgrades in-line with the engines increased outputs.

Despite months of angry denials, sources insist that Ferrari will launch its new entry-level 2+2 coupe before the end of this year.

Word is that the new car, which Ferrari plans to debut at the Paris motor show in October, has a target price less than the F430’s $190,000. A name for the new front-engined car is still anyone’s guess. California, Dino and Piccolina (”little one”) are possibilities for what is now called the F149 inside Ferrari. Ferrari hasn’t even

confirmed the car’s existence, much less verified its name, and there are no guarantees that it will ever wear a Ferrari badge (the Dino never did), which would make Ferrari’s denials technically correct.

Regardless of its moniker, the new car will break two important pieces of new ground for Ferrari, with a direct-fuel-injection engine and a folding steel hardtop roof designed and built by Pininfarina.

Ferrari has tested the F149 in and around the Maranello factory with almost complete immunity from spy photographers, because most have been fooled by its disguise

as a Maserati GranTurismo convertible. The F149 will be based on heavily modified GranTurismo architecture, which means the big Maserati coupe has provided the

perfect cover for Ferrari’s most important debutante.

The new direct-injection engine, codenamed F136Y, will have a capacity of about 4.3 liters but will owe little more than its engine block to the existing F430’s high-revving V8. Sources say it will have all-new injection rails, new intakes, new cylinder heads and new valvetrains and will debut a type of throttle body never used before. Direct injection will bring an instant fuel-efficiency increase of between 5 and 8 percent, and an all-new gearbox will provide additional gains.

The new Ferrari will spearhead the Italian brand’s push toward 10,000 cars a year.

It will be assembled on a refurbished Maranello production line with less in-house manufacturing than ever before and will be expected to contribute about 4000 sales a year almost immediately. Ferrari’s current volume is more than 6000 cars a year, three-quarters of which are F430 V8s.

The folding steel hardtop will make it a Ferrari for all seasons, with Pininfarina using the F149 to demonstrate new lightweight technology with shorter folded roof sections to minimize trunk length. This move means close collaboration with Pininfarina (and Magna Steyr), and there is speculation that a massive proportion of the car actually could be built at Pininfarina’s assembly plant rather than in Maranello.

At the Geneva Motor Show, Ferrari launched its new “One-to-One Personalisation Program” that allows buyers to fully customize their car by choosing details and materials they want in consultation with the Italian carmaker’s experts. The personalization program was inaugurated in Geneva with the 612 Scaglietti. Ferrari recreated a compact version of the real atelier (due to be officially opened in Maranello in the near future) on the company’s stand.

To underscore the flexibility of the personalization options available for the 612 Scaglietti, Ferrari exhibited at Geneva a version which has been inspired, right down to its perforated leather Daytona seats, by the classic 365 GTB4 which stands alongside it.

In an age where even the Apple iPhone has its clone, it should come as no surprise that police in Italy have recently charged a group of people in Sicily who are alleged to have built a number of fake Ferraris. Classics such as the 328 GTB as well as more modern models like the 360 Modena have been reincarnated with the use of body parts from other cars including whole chassis, doors, roofs, hoods and even trunks.

Most were based on the chassis of a Pontiac, though Mercedes and Toyotas were also cannibalized. Any parts that couldn’t be sourced were either manufactured in-house or fitted with original components (dashboards, steering wheels and badges).

According to Reuters, 14 of the cars had already been sold while the rest were still being produced in Sicilian garages. Some cars were sold for as little as €20,000, roughly 10% the value of some real Ferraris. The buyers all knew they were acquiring fakes, even though the log book they got described the vehicle as a “modified Ferrari,” police said. Prosecutors are now considering charging them as well.

Geneva is piling on the glitz at this years 2008 motorshow. Not to be outdone by the automotive giants of this world, smaller bespoke coachbuilders and tuners are also vying for the spotlight.

Conducting what most would think as the impossible, Mansory have long been famed for taking the most prestigious brands in the industry and making them even more prestigious. Marques such as Aston Martin, Bentley and Rolls Royce have often received the Mansory treatment. However, this time the Bavarian customiser has turned its attention to the prancing horse from Maranello. Using the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano as a base is always going to give you a big advantage from the start.

In summary, Mansory have included some lightweight carbon fibre body panels, modified the interior with an exotic birds hide and more importantly tweaked the engine to make what they call the “Mansory Stallone”.

The carbon fibre modifications are mainly reserved for the downforce enhancing body kit which comprises of a newly designed nose piece (with intercooler apertures, yes this thing is forced induced!) and an integrated rear diffuser. There are also a side skirts and wheel arches but these are more aesthetic.

As for the interior, Mansory may have an industry first. The interior is coated in swathes of leather, but the leather is not from a Cow but an Ostrich. There are no interior shots as such, but from the images here we can see that Mansory must have at least plucked the Ostriches before covering the seats. We have never seen a red Ostrich either so it safe to say that the hide has been dyed.

Now for the oily bits. Although this beast appears to be all glamour, a peak under the bonnet would reveal that there is also a degree of substance to the transformation. Lurking within is the glorious 6.0L V12 which can trace its origins to the Enzo, however in this application the Mansory Stallone gains a supercharger which lifts the power output from a not unsubstantial 620hp to a fairly adequate 720hp.

100kph is achieved in 3.7 seconds (a 0.2 sec improvement) and it wont stop pulling until you are over 340kph.