Ferrari, the luxury carmaker controlled by Italy’s Fiat, is looking to defy the global economic slump with the launch next month of a model that is already attracting notice from the marque’s loyal but hardly recession-proof customers.

The 458 Italia, which will begin production at the end of the year, is being launched in the teeth of what may be the worst ever downturn in the luxury goods industry. It will be made at the company’s manufacturing plant at Maranello, near Modena, northern Italy, and officially unveiled at next month’s Frankfurt motor show.