The rumors of Ferrari launching a turbocharged version of the 458 Italia have been around ever since the Italian car maker released the new California T with such engine. Now they are gaining momentum and it appears Ferrari is all set to reveal the car at the next Geneva Motor Show.

The turbocharged Ferrari 458 – known as 458M for modified or 458T for turbocharged – will be the first big act of the company’s new leader Sergio Marchionne who recently took over from Luca di Motezemolo. He promised recently not to mess up Ferrari’s DNA in the future products, so this car is going to be very important to him personally.

The turbocharged Ferrari 458 will get a modified version of the 4.0 liter V8 from the new California, but instead of a dry sump system it’ll feature a wet sump. By fiddling with the bore and stroke of the engine Ferrari can go even smaller, 3.5 liter maybe, but that will probably be reserved for the future where they will inevitably have to downsize their motors to make them more efficient.

The 4.0 liter units is expected to make somewhere around 660 horsepower which is considerably more than the 4.5 liter naturally-aspirated V8 currently manages. But there is always the concerns with turbo lag and responsiveness, which is why the word is Ferrari might be experimenting with electric turbochargers.

Via Autocar