2005 Ferrari F430

Review

Track Dominant Ferrari Setting Out to Reclaim the Road

The Ferrari F360 Modena is dead - long live the F430! Expect a great deal of excitement around the Ferrari stand at this years Paris Auto Salon starting September 25th, when the new model officially debuts. The release of a new Ferrari is always highly celebrated by Tifosi around the world, but should be even more so now that Lamborghinis new Gallardo and a handful of recent Porsches have superceded the F360s performance advantage. The 360 has been one of Ferraris most successful production cars, despite early criticism for its radical design departure, but it is expected the new replacement will hardly disappoint.

As with all recent entry-level Ferraris, the new F430 will be clothed in an aluminum body formed over a lightweight aluminum frame. Once again it has been shaped to take the form of a wedgy two-seat, mid-engine vehicle, just as with the F360, 355, 348, 328, 308 and 246 of the past. Yet unlike the 360, the 430 takes an evolutionary approach in styling, borrowing from the new 612 Scaglietti, and heavily influenced by Ferraris Enzo supercar. A quick looks shows that thinner, vertically stacked headlamps with powerful xenon beam headlamps replace the current ovoid lenses. A center "inverted" intake on the front fascias leading edge has been slotted between the two main intakes, the shape and placement a combination of 360 and Enzo. Its mostly Enzo for the tall rear end design, particularly in the execution of its protruding taillamps, which break up the rear fenders curving surfaces.

The reworking of the body doesnt just stop at styling, as there are many aerodynamic tricks incorporated into the slender F430 to improve airflow and reduce drag. The two widened front intakes, now accented by carbon fiber trim, provide additional air flow necessary for keeping the brakes cool. Additional lacerations around the front air dam as well as on the side skirts provide extra airflow without compromising the cars aerodynamics. The wind-cheating design also produces F1-like negative lift at high speeds, ensuring that the wheels stay on the ground. The larger engine breathes through accentuated scoops on the rear fenders, reminiscent of the LeMans winning 250 LM of 1965.

I put such great emphasis on the styling of the F430 for one reason; it maintains a simple, beautiful design without resorting to tall rear spoilers and over-sensationalized bodywork, unfortunate trademarks of exotic sports cars over the years. Like the Enzo, and many modern Ferraris, the F430 features a flat undertray and carbon fiber rear diffuser; the latter integrated into the design allowing form to follow function. Even the most seemingly simple component, such as the glass rear dome, was styled by the wind.

Compared to the F360, the F430 looks about the same in terms of body proportions, but upon closer inspection the new vehicle surprised me as it bucks the usual bigger is better trend. The 430 is 177.6 inches long, which is a slight increase compared to the F360s 176.18 inch length, however the all important width and height measurements have both dropped to 176.2 inches and 47.8 inches respectively. This goes against the supercar norm which usually sees an increase in width as the body grows in length. The wheelbase, as well as its front and rear track remain unchanged from the 360 at 102.4 inches, 65.7 inches front and 64.6 inches rear, respectively. Curb weight, including all engine liquids and gasoline is 3,190 pounds, more than the 3,064 pound mass of the 360.

The name of the new model, like most recent Ferraris, stands for the cylinder displacement of the engine. Unusually there is no additional geographic or historic moniker to compliment the numeric designation, at least not yet. It appears that Ferrari may have come to a bit of a road block in deciding on an official name for the new vehicle. So far, entries have included Modena Evoluzione, Monza and Fiorano, all elegant sounding names with meaningful significance to the firm, but none has been confirmed by the factory. Ill put my money on Monza if Ferrari continues its F1 dominance and manages to clinch a 1-2 victory after 53 laps of the 5.793 km circuit. For that matter the automaker should probably call it the Schumacher, as it owes much to the worlds greatest F1 driver that will no doubt clinch his 7th world championship this season and another constructors championship for the Scuderia.

When Ferrari designed the 4.2-liter V8 motor for Maserati, after purchasing the Italian sports firm, I was certain sure it would find a home in a prancing horse badged car. As it turns out, a variation of the 4.2 now powers this very car. Enlarged to 4,308 cc, the engine received several internal upgrades, which include a larger 81 mm stroke, which should allow the motor to rev higher and harder. The original oversquare bore of 92 mm has remained the same. Like the F360, a flat-plane crankshaft has been incorporated, which differs from a regular crank as it fires two cylinders at the same time and provides the added bonus of creating that delicious metallic Ferrari scream.

With such revisions in place, the motor develops 490 horsepower peaking at a lofty 8,500 rpm, while torque measures in at 343 lb-ft available at 5,250 rpm. Compared to outgoing 360, the gain in power is a staggering 100 horses! Next to its direct competitor the Lamborghini Gallardo, the new Ferrari loses out on the power race, but with a specific horsepower per liter rating of 113.95 and a power to weight ratio of 2.96 hp/kg, this prancing horse is bound to win on the open road. Ferrari suggests that the F430 takes under four seconds to reach 60 mph, before topping out at 196 mph.

In the press release, Ferrari claimed that the F430 is more than 70 percent new, and features more technology derived directly from its championship-winning F1 racing cars than in any other mass produced car. With the amount of money spent every year on Schumacher and Co., its only natural that some of the equipment that helps the scarlet team lap international courses faster and more reliably than the any competitor be applied to production vehicles.

For starters, Ferrari will once again be offering its F1-style gearbox, complete with paddle shifters. The six-speeder, however, has been tuned to shift gears faster than ever before. For the time being Ferrari has made no mention of offering a regular 6-speed manual transmission, but Im quite sure demand will dictate some sort of standard gearbox is made available.

The sublime Brembo-sourced cross-drilled carbon-ceramic disc brakes, which recently were added to the 575M options list and appeared earlier on the F360 Challenge Stradale, will be optional on the F430. Also added to the list are adjustable dampers and a new invention dubbed E-Diff, an electronically controlled differential which Ferrari claims is a first for a production car. Whether this claim will hold true by the time the new Ferrari becomes available is not certain, as DaimlerChryslers Jeep brand is introducing electronic limited slip differentials on its upcoming 2005 Grand Cherokee which will also be available shortly. No doubt the two systems will be very different in application.

The steering wheel on the F430 is a functional link to Ferraris famous F1 cars. Like the Enzo, it features thumb-actuated horn buttons on the wheels rim, as well as a large, red starter button. The steering wheel also houses the rotary knob which features a five-setting adjustment for the cars traction and stability control, E-diff, active dampers and transmission program. The F1-inpsired system has settings for normal conditions, ice, slippery roadways, racing and ASR-off, with each driver selectable to suit individual needs. Think of it as a condensed version of Schumachers own wheel.

The F430s interior mimics the exterior in that there are plenty of references to the Enzo, but its still well within the domain of the outgoing Modena. The dashboard and instrumentation are straightforward with a bold Girard-Perregaux-style yellow-faced rev-counter up front and center. All other gauges are smaller and offset to either side with standard black faces. The center console takes on a simpler look, featuring a radio, Enzo-style five-star vents and simple rotary switches for the HVAC system. Fine leather trim swathes the dashboard, as well as the pair of sporty, redesigned bucket seats.

In order to catch the first glimpse of the F430, youll need to make your way over to the Place Champs DElysées in Paris for the cars late September debut. At the motor show, the final details regarding specification, pricing and availability will be announced. The first European deliveries are expected to take place starting as early as October or November, but it will be several months before the cars are expected to show up on our shores. The North American debut should be at either the LA or Detroit shows. Pricing is expected to be about 5 percent higher than current models.

Like the F360, Ferrari has plans for a soft-top Spyder version, as well as a driver-focused, stripped-out version similar to the Challenge Stradale. Its expected that the Stradale will further increase the power of the 4.3-liter V8, and further lighten the cars curb weight by use of exotic materials like carbon fiber. These two models will arrive within approximately two years at the latest, and be priced accordingly for their additional specifications.