Ferrari F430

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Ferrari F430
Manufacturer: Ferrari
Production: 2004—present
Predecessor: Ferrari 360
Class: Sports car
Body style: 2-seat Berlinetta
2-seat Spider
Layout: MR layout
Engine: 4.3 L V8
Wheelbase: 2600 mm (102.4 in)
Length: 4512 mm (177.6 in)
Width: 1923 mm (75.7 in)
Height: 1214 mm (47.8 in)
Curb weight: 1450 kg (3197 lb)
Similar: Aston Martin V8 Vantage
Ford GT
Lamborghini Gallardo
Panoz Esperante
Porsche 997 Turbo
Chevrolet Corvette Z06
Dodge Viper
Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG[1]

The Ferrari F430 is a high-performance sports car produced by the Italian automaker Ferrari to succeed the Ferrari 360. It debuted at the 2004 Paris Motor Show. European left-hand drive sales began in November, 2004, but right-hand drive sales did not start until Spring 2005, and the United States did not get the F430 until Summer 2005.

Contents

[edit] Overview

The F430's chassis is heavily based on its predecessor, the 360. Internally, both cars are referred to with the same number (131), though the F430 has the Evoluzione tag attached to show that it features some major changes. Internally, the car is simply known as the "Evo".

Based on "Edmunds.com", the MSRP for an F1 style Ferrari F430 is $178,906. The F430 costs £118,000 in the United Kingdom.

[edit] Design

The body has been redesigned to be more curvaceous and aerodynamic. Although the drag coefficient remains the same, downforce has been greatly enhanced. A great deal of Ferrari heritage is found in the car: at the rear, the Enzo's tail lights have been added, and that car's interior vents have been added to the F430 as well. The car's name has been etched into the outside of the Testarossa-styled driver's side mirror as was previously done with the F40. The large oval openings in the front bumper are reminiscent of Ferrari racing models from the 1960s, specifically the 156 "sharknose" Formula One car and 250 TR61 Le Mans cars of Phil Hill.

[edit] Engine

Along with a restyled body, the F430 features a 4.3 L V8 gasoline engine derived from a shared Ferrari/Maserati design. This new powerplant is a significant departure for the F430's line: The engines of all previous V8 Ferraris were descendants of the "Dino" racing program of the 1950s. This fifty year development cycle comes to an end with the entirely new 4.3 L, the architecture of which will later replace the Dino-derived V12 in most other Ferrari cars. Power is 360.4 kW (483 hp) at 8500 rpm and torque 465 N·m (343 ft·lbf) at 5250 rpm.

[edit] Brakes

The brakes on the F430 were made in close collaboration with Brembo. The result has been a new cast-iron alloy for the discs. The new alloy includes molybdenum which has better heat dissipation performance. Another option Ferrari is providing are carbon-ceramic discs. Ceramics have much higher heat-resistivity than metals, thus giving the F430's brakes not only good performance but also a longer lifespan. Ferrari claims the brakes will not fade even after 300-350 laps at their test track.

[edit] Features

The F430 includes the E-Diff, a computer-controlled limited slip differential which can vary the distribution of torque based on inputs such as steering angle and lateral acceleration.

Other notable features include the first application of Ferrari's manettino steering wheel-mounted control knob. Drivers can select from five different settings which modify the vehicle's ESP system, "Skyhook" electronic suspension, transmission behavior, throttle response, and E-Diff. The feature is similar to Land Rover's "Terrain Response" system.

[edit] Performance

Car and Driver magazine found the car's performance worthy of the Ferrari heritage, and recorded a 3.5 sec 0-60 mph acceleration run in the F430. This makes it the second-quickest Ferrari road car ever made, after the Enzo. That being said, the 3.5 second 0-60 run was made on a European spec car, which has launch control, a feature designed to help launch the car from a standing start at high RPM's. Much like the E-Diff and the manettino, the launch control is a technology borrowed from Ferrari's Formula 1 racing program. The launch control is unavailable in U.S.-spec F430's, presumably due to liability issues.

When Car and Driver tested a U.S.-spec F430, they recorded a 0-60 time of 4 seconds- a figure still worthy of the Ferrari name.

On the BBC Top Gear TV show, shown on the 17 July 2005, the Stig achieved a Power Lap time of 1.22.9. While the laptime was 0.9 seconds less than a Lamborghini Murciélago, the F430 was slower than the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale at 1.22.3. The slower lap was blamed on the F430's Bridgestone tyres supposedly having less grip than the F360CS' Pirellis.

[edit] Critics

Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson has commended the F430s handling as a marked improvement over the 360; he described the 360 as a "tricky little so-and-so at the limit".

"Wheels" magazine of Australia described the F430 as the "Greatest Ferrari ever"

F430 GT's placed third place in the GT2 class at the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

[edit] Special versions

[edit] F430 Pista

The F430 Pista is the racing version of the F430 for the Ferrari Challenge series. Power is up to 490 hp (365 kW), and the car can reach a top speed of 196 mph (315 km/h). The production model was unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show in January, 2006.

[edit] F430 Challenge Stradale

Ferrari is introducing a reduced weight version of the F430. Aimed to compete with cars like Porsche RS-models, it will be 100 kg lighter and provide output of around 520 horsepower. Thus the weight-to-power ratio will be reduced from 2.96 kg/hp for the standard model to an estimated 2.60 kg/hp.[2]

[edit] The F430 in popular culture

The F430 is the cover car for the Project Gotham Racing 3 racing game. The F430 also appears in Sega's Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast as one of the hidden vehicles. A further appearance for both Berlinetta and Spider models is found in Test Drive: Unlimited.

The F430 Spider is featured in the Michael Mann directed Miami Vice in Summer 2006.[3]

The Pixar Animation Studios film Cars featured a Ferrari F430 named for Michael Schumacher, who provided the voice for the car.

A heavily modified F430 made a cameo appearance in the anime film Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society.

A F430 appears in the beginning of Jay-Z's music video for his song, Show Me What You Got with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Driving and Jay-Z in the passenger seat racing Danica Patrick in a Pagani Zonda

[edit] Safety issues

While the F430 meets or exceed all NHSTA guidelines, the car reportedly lacks sufficient protection for a small number of female passengers as well as children. The company has requested a waiver on the airbag requirements (which, if not given would mean that cars made after September 1, 2006 could not be legally driven in the United States). The waiver was eventually granted allowing the car to continue to be sold in the US. [4]

[edit] Gallery

A red F430

Ferrari F430 Spider - Rear

The steering wheel and dashboard of a Ferrari F430

[edit] References

  1. ^ Aston Martin DB9 vs. Ferrari F430 vs. Ford GT vs. Lamborghini Gallardo vs. Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG vs. Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet - Comparison Tests
  2. ^ SPY PHOTOS: More Ferrari F430 Challenge Stradale
  3. ^ Ferrari F430 in Miami Vice Movie
  4. ^ Leftlane News - Ferrari 430 Get's Airbag Exemption

[edit] External links

 Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
<-earlier Ferrari road car timeline, 1960-present ([edit])
Type 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
FR GT America 330 365 Daytona 550 575M 599
250 275
2+2 250GT 330GT 365GT GTC/4 GT4 400 400i 412 456 GT 456M GT 612
RMR V6/V8 206 246 308 308i 308qv 328 348 F355 360 F430
208
2+2 GT4 Mondial 8 Mondial 3.2 Mondial T
F12 365BB 512BB BBi Testarossa 512TR F512M
supercars 250 GTO 288 GTO F40 F50 F50 GT Enzo FXX
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