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Ferrari 458 Italia's V8 Takes Home Best Performance Engine Award

During the prestigious 2011 International Engine of the Year Awards, Ferrari managed to scoop up the Best Performance Engine award for the 4499 cc V8 lump of perfection in the Ferrari 458 Italia. There’s plenty of powerhouses around in the supercar world, but the Prancing Horse managed to engineer a package that blends driveability, performance, economy and refinement.

In assigning the awards ,the jury also praised the 458 Italia’s engine for its unmistakable sound. The jury for the awards is made up of 76 motoring journalists from 36 countries who assess every aspect of the engine.

The new 4499 cc V8 is the first Ferrari direct injection engine to be mid-rear mounted. It has a very low piston compression height, typical of racing engines, which contributed to achieving its compression ratio of 12.5:1. The design of the engine components has been influenced by the carry-over of racing technology, F1 in particular.

Equipped with the traditional flat-plane crankshaft, the engine delivers 570 hp at 9000 rpm and sets a new benchmark not only for the whole Ferrari range and the history of company, but also for the entire market segment, by achieving a power output of 127 hp per liter.

Maximum torque is 540 Nm (398 lbs-ft) at 6000 rpm, over 80 per cent of which is available from 3250 rpm. Specific torque is a record 120 Nm/liter.

With the introduction of the HELE (High Emotions Low Emissions) system, the V8 now produces a best-in-class 275 g/km of CO2, with fuel consumption of just 11.8 l/100 km or about 20 mpg (ECE + EUDC combined cycle).

If all this talk about Ferrari got you all hot and bothered, then you might want to quench your thirst with our coverstory on the Ferrari Service Visit.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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