This, sports fans, is the seriously hardcore Ferrari 458 Speciale - due to debut at the Frankfurt motor show in just a few weeks - and yes, it has the most powerful naturally-aspirated V8 engine ever to come out of Maranello, and yes, it is based on the 458 Italia, but no, this is not a stripped out, pumped up muscle-car version of the Italia - it's practically a new model in its own right.
But let's start with that engine; the 4495cc 90-degree V8 has been tweaked to the point where it now delivers a quoted 445kW at 9000 revs and 540Nm at 6000rpm - a specific output of 99kW per litre, the highest ever quoted by Ferrari for a street-legal engine without turboboost.
The Speciale also weighs just 1290kg dry, giving it a power-to-weight ratio of 345kg per ton - good enough to take it from standstill to 100km/h in three seconds flat, to 200km/h in 9.1 seconds and around Ferrari's notoriously tight Fiorano test track in 1min23.5 - a second and a half quicker than the Italia.
BALANCE OF FORCES
The body, you'll note, has a lot more aero kit on it than the vanilla-flavoured 458, notably the adaptive front splitter and rear wing, developed in co-operation with Pininfarina to balance downforce front and rear, and reduce drag.
The electronic driver aids are new too, led by a new algorithm in the onboard dynamics called side-slip angle control that makes the car easier to control on the limit.
It analyses the car's drift in real time, compares it with the target value and adjusts both torque management, using the traction control system, and torque distribution, through the electronic limited-slip differential, to keep the Speciale pointed exactly where you wanted to go in the first place.
EVEN THE TYRES ARE SPECIAL
The Speciale's Michelin Pilot Sport Cup2 radials were developed specifically for this car to boost both grip and lap-to-lap consistency.
Steve McQueen once said, "Racing is life, everything else is just waiting."
He also drove like that on the street, often taking his irreplaceable Jaguar XK-SS out at night for illegal street races on LA's Mulholland Drive. We can't help thinking he'd have been near the front of the queue for the Ferrari 458 Speciale - it's that kind of car.