Emerging from the rumormill are talks about Ferrari getting ready to reveal a convertible version of its new 458 Italia supercar at next month's 2011 Frankfurt auto show.

In a new report from Germany's Auto Motor und Sport magazine, sources close to Maranello say that like its predecessor, the 458 Italia Spider will be offered with an electrically operated cloth convertible top that disappears behind the front seats.

Italian sports carmaker Ferrari has set its eyes on the North American Grand Am series, which it plans to compete in with the new 458 Italia Grand Am that was given its track baptism today at the Fiorano circuit completing several laps in the hands of Maurizio Mediani and Jaime Melo.

Developed in cooperation with Michelotto Automobili, the racing model is based on the European GT3 version of the 458 Italia but features less efficient aerodynamics as well as a detuned V8 delivering 500-horses due to the different regulations in the American series.

Before you watch the following video, take a minute to ponder this: You are sitting behind the steering wheel of an exotic, brand new Italian supercar, getting ready to drag race a V10-powered Dodge Viper on the quarter mile strip in front of a crowd of 100, or perhaps even more people. But when the race begins you start rolling backwards…

Oh yes, that’s right; the owner of the Ferrari 458 Italia that you’re about to see in the clip and who was pitted against a Dodge Viper at the ICAR motorsports complex situated just outside of Montreal in Canada, paddle shifted his car’s dual clutch auto transmission into reverse!

The bashed up 599 GTO we showed you yesterday wasn’t the only Ferrari to bite the dust at this past weekend's Trofeo Ferrari Club Italia event at the Vallelunga racetrack near Rome.

The same fate awaited this red 458 Italia when its driver apparently lost control of the exotic supercar in a corner sending it straight onto the protective barriers. In a somewhat unfitting end for the Ferrari, a tractor had to be called in to carry away the car. Watch the incident unfold in the video after the jump.

Challenging the notion that a true Ferrari has to be red, Anderson Germany has whipped up a murdered out 458 Italia with both styling and mechanical upgrades. Starting with the visible modifications, Anderson Germany's Ferrari 458 is finished in a black color and features a carbon fiber package that includes a pair of vents on the front hood, spoiler lips, rear diffuser and exterior mirrors. The German tuner also tinted the Italian supercar’s windows, headlamps and taillights. Read more »

Internet users visiting Ferrari’s official website today were greeted by a modified home page with a special wallpaper featuring a green FF, a white 458 Italia and this year’s F1 race car in red, which combine to make a motoring version of the Italian flag. This is Ferrari’s online way of celebrating the 150th anniversary of Italy’s unification. In addition, the automaker said that the window displays in the forty Ferrari Stores spread around the globe were decked out in the colors of the Italian flag.

A no-nonsense, classic American muscle car from the 1960s going head to head with a high-tech, thoroughbred Italian supercar in the ultimate quarter mile race. What more could you ask to make this battle more interesting? Well, how about a $400,000 wager?

The story has it that Dan Bilzerian, owner of a ‘tricked-out’ 1965 427 Shelby Cobra, placed a bet that his American muscle car can beat his friend Tom Goldstein's 2011 Ferrari 458 Italia in a quarter mile race.

On March 9, 2011, the two men brought their cars down to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway racetrack and put their money where their mouth is. And no, we won’t spoil the surprise by telling you who won the bet. Video follows after the break.

Mansory's products are always eye-catching (if not necessarily attractive), whether they be a clear coat carbon Aston Martin named Cyrus or that silly pink Bentley. Beauty, after all, is in the eye of the beholder. That being said, allow me to introduce you to the Siracusa. Rant and rave in the comments below.

Underneath all the new and revised carbon fiber body panels (now with more louvers!) is a Ferrari 458 Italia. Named after a Sicilian raceway, the Siracusa has received a respiratory performance boost to 590 horsepower / 434 kW and 560 Nm / 413 lb-ft representing gains of + 20 hp and + 20 Nm / 15 lb-ft over the standard model.

Mansory's products are always eye-catching (if not necessarily attractive), whether they be a clear coat carbon Aston Martin named Cyrus or that silly pink Bentley. Beauty, after all, is in the eye of the beholder. That being said, allow me to introduce you to the Siracusa. Rant and rave in the comments below.

Underneath all the new and revised carbon fiber body panels (now with more louvers!) is a Ferrari 458 Italia. Named after a Sicilian raceway, the Siracusa has received a respiratory performance boost to 590 horsepower / 434 kW and 560 Nm / 413 lb-ft representing gains of + 20 hp and + 20 Nm / 15 lb-ft over the standard model.

The new Ferrari FF won't be the only model from Maranello to make its world premiere at the 2011 Geneva Salon, as Carscoop has learned that the Italian supercar maker will also introduce a greener version of the 458 Italia equipped with the company’s HELE (High Emotion, Low Emission) technology, which improves CO2 emissions and reduces fuel consumption.

The new Ferrari FF won't be the only model from Maranello to make its world premiere at the 2011 Geneva Salon, as Carscoop has learned that the Italian supercar maker will also introduce a greener version of the 458 Italia equipped with the company’s HELE (High Emotion, Low Emission) technology, which improves CO2 emissions and reduces fuel consumption.