Hennessey Performance (HPE) will unveil the company’s first modified Ferrari on Friday, August 16th at Concorso Italiano, a display of Italian machinery that’s part of the annual celebration of classic and historic cars informally known as the Monterey Weekend. The car will be shown at Concorso’s home, the Laguna Seca Golf Ranch off Highway 68, in conjunction with Meguiar’s, a maker of premium car care products. On Saturday, August 17th, the car will be on display in Laguna Seca’s paddock as part of the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.
The Hennessey HPE700 Twin Turbo upgrade for the Ferrari 458 delivers 738 horsepower at 8,400 rpm and 532 lb-ft of torque at 5,600 rpm. The additional thrust, approximately 170 more crankshaft horsepower than stock, pushes this already magnificent steed from Maranello to an even higher performance plateau, with a compelling, raw soundtrack to match its explosive quarter-mile time: 10.5 seconds at 137 mph. It’s a rarefied group of supercars that can sprint to 60 mph in under 3.0 seconds, and the HPE700 Twin Turbo Ferrari easily qualifies at 2.8.
Most of the upgrade’s componentry is concealed beneath custom-made carbon-fiber covers, but if you stripped them away you’d see the low-inertia ball-bearing turbochargers tucked up neatly toward the tail end of the dual-clutch sequential 7-speed gearbox, the TIG-welded, mandrel-bent T304 stainless tubing, the twin wastegates and blow-off valves and an especially trick aluminum plenum that contains the air-to-water charge-cooler element. At the other end of the self-contained charge-cooling loop is a rear-mounted heat exchanger, paired with dual electric fans that work to reduce inlet temperatures that come with a maximum boost pressure of 7 psi, and holding 6 psi through the 4.5-liter V-8’s 9000-rpm redline. A Hennessey reflash of the engine-control computer works in concert with the Ferrari’s direct injection to optimize fuel delivery and spark. Overall, it’s an elegantly engineered system, finished to Ferrari standards and expertly packaged in the 458’s tight hindquarters.
Further personalization will be possible with optional upgrades including Hennessey’s CarbonAero exterior pieces (currently under development) consisting of a carbon-fiber front splitter and rear lip spoiler designed to accentuate the 458’s seductive lines. Hennessey 20-in. monoblock forged wheels are available, as is a KW suspension system with 2-way adjustable shocks and threaded spring perches for easy corner weighting and ride-height adjustment. Interior upgrades can be as extensive as the buyer desires, with custom leather/Alcantara color combinations, special stitch patterns and carbon-fiber trim for the dash and instrument cluster.
The Ferrari 458’s HPE700 Twin Turbo upgrade sells for $59,995 installed and includes a 1-year/12,000-mile limited warranty and full dyno tuning and road testing. Serial-numbered aluminum plaques for both the engine compartment and dash are part of the upgrade, as is Hennessey exterior badging.
