Ferrari Millechili news - Red hot 'Chili - 2007

If you need proof that Italians are much cooler than us Brits, look no further than the Ferrari Millechili.

See, if it was British, this lightweight concept would be called the One-Ton. Not cool.

It's a car that demonstrates the direction of Ferrari's development over the next decade, and it weighs in at just 1,000kg - or Millechili in Italian. Hell, whatever's under the surface, it's off to a good start with a name like that.

Unfortunately there's not much under the surface at this stage. Unveiled yesterday at a Ferrari technical briefing in Maranello, the Millechili is still a plastic-and-paper concept at this stage.

But all the talk of adding lightness gives some strong hints about where Ferrari is going with its next generation of hypercars.

It's also a poke in the eye to everyone clamouring for Ferrari to build a Bugatti Veyron rival. Instead of taking the Enzo and upping its power - as many predicted they would - the Ferrari engineers reckon that shaving 300kg and a few inches off their supercar is the best way to deliver performance and driver involvement. Oh, and better economy into the bargain.

Because, instead of tinkering with hybrid hypercars or performance diesels, it looks like Ferrari's answer to the Big Green Problem is to keep things light and simple - just like the Millechili.

Ferrari was at pains to point out that the Millechili does not preview a rumoured 911-rival - dubbed the Dino by just about everyone - that's rumoured to be in the Maranello pipeline. Top Gear was told categorically that there is no small-engined Ferrari called the Dino on the way.

We'll leave you to decide whether that means there's no small-engined Ferrari on the way, or simply whether it won't be called the Dino.

But Ferrari explicitly denied that it wants to sell more cars in established markets - instead relying on expanding sales of its current cars in Asia and the Middle East - making it unlikely that a higher-volume, genuine 911 rival is round the corner.

Amid all the rumour-quashing, Ferrari insiders did reveal that a lightweight special edition of the F430 will debut at the Frankfurt motor show in September.

Will it be the much-anticipated Challenge Stradale version? Perhaps not. Top Gear was told that it might not be as hardcore as 2003's track-focused Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale, but it will be featherweight.

Looks like Ferrari has seen the light.