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Ferrari 458 Speciale is our Frankfurt fantasy [w/video]

This is the Ferrari 458 Speciale, and while its name might underwhelm, its performance and lineage more than make up for it. The successor to the proud line of hot, higher-performance, mid-engined Ferraris like the 360 Challenge Stradale and 430 Scuderia, the 458 Speciale is blessed with a 596-horsepower, 4.5-liter V8 and the ability to skip to 62 miles per hour in three seconds. It also comes with a not-so-subtle racing stripe, which we like.
Thanks to a scarcely believable curb weight of 2,844 pounds, special Michelin Pilot Sport cup 2 tires, and a few tweaks to the electronic diff, the Speciale is quite a dancer as well. Naturally, Ferrari is showing off the newest member of the scuderia at Frankfurt, and we made it a priority to see it in person. We've got a full gallery of live images above, a video and stock photography from Ferrari down below, and our original coverage of the car, from August, right here.

Ferrari reveals LaFerrari-based FXX K in Abu Dhabi

Ever since Ferrari revealed the latest evolution of its flagship hypercar series with the debut of LaFerrari at the Geneva Motor Show last year, the question on everyone's mind – aside from how it would stack up against rivals like the McLaren P1 and Porsche 918 Spyder – is what it would look like in its ultimate, unhinged, track-focused iteration. But now we need wonder no more as the Prancing Horse marque has revealed the new FXX K. The what-letters-now, you ask? FXX K. The name is drawn from the Enzo-based FXX that kicked off the company's client development program the better part of a decade ago, but with an extra letter tacked on to signify the KERS hybrid system on board. In the FXX K, that system has been further optimized: the electric motor now delivers 187 horsepower (instead of 160) and the 6.3-liter V12 has been boosted to 848 hp (up from 789) for a total output of 1,035 prancing ponies – a solid increase from the 950 hp in the road-going LaFerrari, but at 664 pound-feet, it's down in the torque department by 51 lb-ft. Of course output isn't the end of the story, and as you can see the scarlet-clad engineers in Maranello have focused a considerable amount of energy on optimizing the aero package. The front end gets a two-part splitter derived from Ferrari's victorious GT racing program, with vertical fins along the flanks, side skirts extending between the wheels, a dynamic rear wing, vertical fin and a giant diffuser. All of this and more contributes to as much as 50 percent more downforce, aided by increased mechanical grip from the Pirelli racing slicks, with carbon-ceramic brake discs measuring 15 inches across (plus or minus, front to rear) to keep it all in check. Unveiled at Ferrari's Finali Mondiali event at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, the FXX K also boasts a recalibrated electronic differential, traction control, ABS, Racing SSC (Side Slip Angle Control) and a four-mode Manetinno dial on the center console to switch between levels of electric boost. In short, Ferrari has pulled out all the stops, and we wouldn't be surprised to see the FXX K taking the Fiorano lap record for anything this side of an F1 car. The record is currently held by the 333 SP at 1:11, nine seconds ahead of the road-going LaFerrari's 1:20. That's roughly the same differential between the FXX and the Enzo on which it was based, or the 599XX Evoluzione and the 599 GTO.

Ferrari Driver Academy heads to Florida for the winter

Retirees and Girls Gone Wild camera crews aren't the only ones who go to Florida for the winter. So is a contingent of aspiring formula racing drivers taking part in the new Florida Winter Series being set up by the Ferrari Driver Academy.
The program is being set up in response to a lack of suitable weather at circuits in Europe, which would otherwise keep rising stars in formula racing from honing their skills during the off-season. Toyota runs an off-season series in New Zealand, but Ferrari is heading to the most southern of these United States to give its prodigies some much-needed track time.
Set up as more of a training program than a competitive championship, the FDA Florida Winter Series is based around a field of 15 aspiring drivers piloting the Formula Abarth-spec Tatuus FA010B, with a 195-horsepower engine furnished by Fiat Powertrain Technologies and an engineer for every three cars in the series.