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There have been many before it and I'm sure there will be many more to come, but the latest edition to the Ferrari legacy is the mid-engined 458 Italia. This fantastic hunk of metal featured in last night's episode of Top Gear and even made Jeremy Clarkson grin like a Cheshire cat.

The 458 replaces the F430, according to the Top gear website, with a new" 4.5 litre direct injection V8, which produces an astonishing 562bhp". To put this into perspective, that's 79bhp more than the current F430 and 52bhp more than the legendary Scuderia.

In true Clarkson style his review of the fabulous Ferrari started a little rocky, with an attack on the secondary controls, but surprisingly this was the only fault he could find. The styling, the engine, the handling and the raw exhaust sound were all praised by the pessimistic presenter while he was hurtling around the track at breakneck speed.

One of the best quotes of the night, used by Clarkson when describing the 458 was when he said the Ferrari was like "Stephen Fry with Kiera Knightley's face" – what a combination! He even shocked viewers by saying he preferred the 458 to the flawless F40.

In true Top Gear style the three stooges, Clarkson, May and Hammond, were given the challenge of getting from the Lotus headquarters in Norfolk to the derelict TVR factory in Blackpool – sound easy, well there was one slight snag, they would be driving in classic British sports cars.