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Ferrari to offer 458 examples of new Speciale Spider

Talk about first-world, one-percenter problems: you want to get a new Ferrari, you've even settled on the 458, but you can't decide between the Spider and the Speciale. It's a tough call, we know. But your pain will be over soon, if the latest rumors are to be believed.
Those rumors have it that, at an exclusive preview event for select customers at Pebble Beach this past weekend, Ferrari showed off a new 458 variant that combines the best attributes of the 458 Spider (namely its folding hardtop) with those of the 458 Speciale (those being its 600-horsepower engine and other go-fast bits).
Succeeding the similarly exclusive, best-of-both-worlds, F430-based 16M Scuderia Spider, the new 458 Speciale Spider (or whatever it's ultimately called) is said to be limited to 458 examples worldwide, and is expected to be unveiled to the public at the Paris Motor Show this coming October.

Stellantis and LG launch joint venture for North American battery plant

Stellantis has struck a preliminary deal with battery maker LG Energy Solution (LGES) to produce battery cells and modules for North America, as the world's No. 4 automaker rolls out its 30 billion euro ($35 billion) electrification plan. Global automakers are investing billions of euros to accelerate a transition to low-emission mobility and prepare for a progressive phase-out of internal combustion engines. Stellantis and LGES's joint venture will produce battery cells and modules at a new facility with an annual capacity of 40 gigawatt hours (GWh), the two firms said on Monday. No financial details of the deal were provided. The plant is scheduled to start production by the first quarter of 2024, with groundbreaking expected in the second quarter of 2022, the companies said in their statement. Its location is under review and will be announced later. Stellantis, formed in January from the merger of Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler and France's PSA, has said it wants to secure more than 130 GWh of global battery capacity by 2025 and more than 260 GWh by 2030. The batteries produced under the deal will supply Stellantis' U.S., Canadian and Mexican assembly plants for installation in hybrid and fully electric vehicles, supporting its goal of e-vehicles making up more than 40% of its U.S. sales by 2030. The company, whose brands include Peugeot, Fiat, Opel and U.S. best-sellers Jeep and Ram, earlier this year announced it would invest more than 30 billion euros through 2025 on electrifying its vehicle lineup. Stellantis has said it would build three battery plants in Europe and two in North America, including at least one in the United States. Intesa Sanpaolo analyst Monica Bosio said the deal was positive, and a further step ahead in Stellantis' electrification process. It comes weeks after Stellantis and its partner TotalEnergies agreed to open up their battery cell joint venture ACC to Daimler, to expand their European sourcing of battery cells. Stellantis is also targeting more than 70% of sales in Europe to be of low-emission vehicles by 2030, and aims to make the total cost of owning an EV equal to that of a gasoline-powered model by 2026. Related video: Green Plants/Manufacturing Alfa Romeo Chrysler Dodge Ferrari Fiat Jeep Maserati RAM Citroen Lancia Opel Peugeot Vauxhall Electric Hybrid EV batteries LG

Track lapping in Ferrari's new 488 GTB

With the floodgates opening on impressions about Ferrari's latest 488 GTB, Chris Harris is the latest person to climb into the driver's seat and give his initial opinions on the Prancing Horse's latest turbocharged effort. The 488 GTB is a hard vehicle to pin down, though. It looks vaguely like the naturally aspirated 458 but practically every component is thoroughly revised. While the headline-grabber is the 660-horsepower, 3.9-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 that's positioned behind the driver, the coupe also benefits from new adjustable dampers, upgraded brakes, and more. To figure things out, Harris laps the Prancing Horse around the track and eventually moves to some tight, Italian backroads. Of course being a video from Chris Harris on Cars, you can expect some big, smoky slides in addition to erudite thoughts on this Ferrari with forced induction.