According to the intrepid reporters at TMZ, Kobe Bryant is now the proud owner of a Ferrari 458 Italia, a fancy-and-fast-as-hell "supercar" that officially makes him the coolest guy in school. (Or, at least, the coolest guy on the Los Angeles Lakers bench.)

"We're told the Black Mamba paid $329,000 yesterday for the car ... which he paid for in full with a check," TMZ reported. It was probably a designer Batman check, because Kobe is Batman. (Also: Duh.)

Kobe's new ride "represents one of the largest leaps forward in technology, performance and emissions ever seen from" Ferrari, according to Motor Authority. Its 4.5-liter V-8 engine won the Best Performance Engine category in the 2011 International Engine of the Year competition, so, y'know, this is some kind of engine! Also, 570 horsepower? That would be an awful lot of horses, so that's got to be an awful lot of power.

[Y! Autos: Up close with Eric Clapton's $4.75 million Ferrari]

The folks at Cosby Sweaters point out that Kobe has an endorsement deal with Mercedes — he's also got a deal with Smart — but Bryant's long been known for having a vast, wide-ranging fleet, including a Ferrari F430. (Like it's much of a surprise that Kobe loves Italian stuff.)

Kobe might have gotten taken for a bit of a ride, though — the manufacturer's suggested retail price on the 2012 458 Italia is $230,275. Oh, well. I guess you have to pay a premium for all of those horses.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant spoke to reporters on Friday for the first time since the team traded his longtime backcourt running mate, Derek Fisher, following the Lakers' 97-92 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

His words were measured. While some expected Bryant to unleash a tirade after management parted ways with Fisher, considering the pair won five championships together and came into the league together as rookies in 1996, Bryant's message to the media was more somber than sharp.

"Very difficult," Bryant said. "I'm not used to it because I've been with him my entire career, aside from that little stint that he had away from us. So, it's very different for me. It's pretty weird."

Added Bryant in his ESPN 710 Radio postgame interview, "I think I was shocked just like everybody else ... We've always been close and we'll continue to be close."


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When asked if he was angry about the trade that sent Fisher, along with a first-round pick to the Houston Rockets in exchange for forward Jordan Hill, Bryant said, simply, "No."

"I've been here for awhile and I've had some of my closest friends go, starting with Caron [Butler], Ronny Turiaf, Lamar Odom and Derek," Bryant said. "So I've been through it so many times before."

However, Bryant did not hide his irritation when asked when he was informed the Fisher trade had occurred.

"Don't start no [expletive]," Bryant said. "I'm not even going to answer it. Everybody would be too shocked."

Bryant said he had been in contact with Fisher on several occasions since the trade occurred Thursday.

"I don't get that sentimental about it," Bryant said. "I texted him [Thursday] and we kind of had a laugh about it because he knows how I am. We just talked about the good times and what a fun time it was to go to battle together and things like that, but that's about as sentimental as I'm going to get."

When asked to describe Fisher's mood following the trade, Bryant said, "You guys got to ask Derek. He's much more politically correct than I am ... Talk to Derek about it. I'm sure he'll answer it the way he best sees fit."

Bryant said the hardest thing to replace about Fisher will be his championship experience.

"That doesn't happen by accident," said Bryant. "There's a reason why players that have multiple championships have multiple championships. There's a certain characteristic and an understanding and knowledge and that's not something that's easily taught. You kind of have to go through it and it kind of has to be part of your DNA from the beginning. So, that's something that's obviously tough to replace but we believe that [Ramon] Sessions has that DNA."