2011 Ferrari 458 Italia GT2  

Now that a GT version of the Ferrari 458 Italia is expected to take the reigns from the Ferrari 430 GT in the upcoming ALMS season, a lot of people in the automotive and racing industry have been waiting for quite some time to see a glimpse of the GT-spec 458 Italia in action. Jon Sibal even gave us a very detailed rendering of what he thought the 458 GT would look like when Ferrari finally lifts the covers off of the race car.

But after months of waiting, we can finally let out a little exhale as a prototype version of the 458 GT was spotted recently doing some test runs inside Ferrari’s Fiorano race track in Maranello, Italy.

Not that we care about the timeline of development for the 458 GT. As far as we’re concerned, we’re just happy to see visual proof of the car – prototype or not – playing in its natural habitat: the race track.

Updated 12/14/2010: Someone who goes by the name ILikeFastCars1 - yeah, us too - has just added a new video showing the 458 Italia GT2 testing around the Fiorano test track. Exterior and Interior:                                            

                                                                    As far as initial reactions go, we couldn’t help but notice just how bad-ass the 458 GT prototype looks, especially those angry yellow endurance-racing headlights that seem to look meaner and more and more menacing every time we look at them. Other pertinent features of the prototype that caught our attention are the flared fenders, as well as the vented hood that looks to be – at least from this angle – a little more rounded than the standard version. We also noticed that the car’s front splitter is still noticeably absent, proving that this prototype could very well still be in its early ages. Lastly, there’s also three-piece racing wheels on the prototype 458 GT2. Can’t forget about that.

Performance: 

                                   As per ACO regulations, the 458 Italia GT2 will only be limited to 470 horsepower, which is about 100 less than the road-going 458 Italia and about 30 horsepower down on its predecessor, the F430 GT2. The 458 Italia GT2 also has a six-speed paddle-shift transmission.