458 Italia

Make
Ferrari
Segment
Coupe

We were on hand in March at Geneva to see Formula One great Emerson Fittipaldi reveal the project of his lifetime: the EF7 hypercar, designed by Pininfarina and powered by a mid-mounted, AMG-built 4.8-liter naturally aspirated V8 with 600 h and 376 lb-ft of torque. Often times, exclusive track toys such as this are limited to overseas markets, specifically Europe. Not this time. According to Automotive News, Emerson Fittipaldi himself stated the EF7 will be sold in the US, which makes sense considering Fittipaldi Motors is based in Coral Gables, Florida.

N/A

"The company is American. It's where I live. It's where my family lives. We want to concentrate on the US market," Fittipaldi stated. Specifically, he believes about half of the planned EF7 production run will go to the US. If all goes according to plan, the first deliveries are expected next spring at a price of $1.5 million a pop. That first production round of the 2,200 pound EF7 will be track-only, but the company is keen to eventually build a road legal version. Official test drives have yet to take place, but Fittipaldi told us at Geneva he benchmarked the Ferrari 458 Italia.

"I drove all of the GT racecars, Porsches, Ferraris…just to get the feeling of what they're like. But it was the 458 that did it for me," he explained. "But it came back to the 458. I wanted this (for my car), but lower to the ground. I wanted shark inspiration. Something light and with the safest cockpit. Like a safety capsule."