Front-Engined Ferrari 458 Redesign Looks Spot On, Long Hood Is Amazing

The front-engined 458 redesign comes from The Sketch Monkey, a digital artist who always loves to challenge norms and conventions.

This time around, Marouane (we're obviously looking at the gear head's real name here) only had to make a few changes in his Photoshop playground, but the effects were massive. Most importantly, the end result actually looks like something that came out of the Maranello factory gates.

Of course, a proposal like the one we have here will split opinions by definition. So, without further ado, here are two opposing views on this engine migration portrait.

The +

While seeing a Prancing Horse that keeps a V8 up front might make one think of the Portofino, this contraption should be compared to the California instead, as dictated by its age and its naturally aspirated V8. And since the Cali was quite soft for a Fezza (here's a review), it could be nice to get some serious extra spice by going down this path.

The -

With Ferrari having now returned to twin-turbocharging for its V8s, the 458 will forever hold a special place in our hearts, not least thanks to mixing an N/A V8 with an incredibly sharp mid-engined chassis (reviews: 458 Italia, 458 Spider, 458 Speciale). So why mess with the handling?

Now, given the kind of extreme Italian exotic-based builds we get nowadays, we might just get to see such a project coming to life one day, so you'd better be prepared.

PS: The screenshots above tell the story quite well and while this is detailed in the clip below, you should know the video actually involves a product review for a pen-display design tablet.