Auto Car | Ferrari F430 | Being beautiful, fast and soulful, Ferrari 360 Modena was my dream car for the past few years. With 17,000 cars sold from 1999 to 2004, it was also the most successful Ferrari in history. However, in the latter half of its life it faced stiff competitions, first from Porsche 996 Turbo, then Lamborghini Gallardo and Ford GT. Compare with the Ferrari, they are even faster and handled better, if not as entertaining to drive. Commercially, the Ferrari's sales was never threatened by these competitors, thanks to its superior brand image. But to maintain this superior image, Ferrari must do something to reverse the situation, otherwise sooner or later it will lose the top spot. It's time to strike back…
So, here comes the new F430. Externally, it looks like a facelift of 360 Modena. Basically, all the critical dimensions are unchanged, such as wheelbase, width, height and tracks. Thankfully, the sexy shape of 360 Modena also retains.
Based on the beautiful design of 360, Pininfarina and Ferrari design chief Frank Stephenson injected more aggressiveness, such as a pair of vertical headlamps, Enzo-style half-recessed taillights, big oval front intakes (inspired by Ferrari 156 Grand Prix car of the early 60s), additional ventilation holes here and there... most of these modifications are driven by functions rather than art, but Ferrari once again proved that beautiful designs and functions are not mutually exclusive.
The tail of F430 incorporates a larger diffuser. Together with other underbody aerodynamic tweaks, it produces a lot more downforce than the already outstanding 360. For example, at 300km/h (186mph), it generates 280kg of downforce (130kg front, 150kg rear), compare to the Modena's 195kg. Remember, this is achieved without seeking help from any external spoilers. At the same time, drag coefficient remains unchanged at 0.33. F430 might look like a facelifted 360, but underneath the familiar shape is a vastly improved machine. A total of 70% parts are redesigned, most notably is the new 4.3-litre V8 engine. It produces 90 more horsepower than the outgoing 3.6-litre V8, taking the total horsepower count to 490. Astonishingly, that’s more than the mighty F40, yet this is just the entry level Ferrari today !
Ferrari claims F430 can top more than 196 mph, which we have no reasons to disbelieve. As for acceleration, despite of a weight increase of 60kg, F430 still boosts considerably higher power to weight ratio than its predecessor (338 hp/ton vs 288 hp/ton), even beating Lamborghini Gallardo (329 hp/ton), if not Ford GT (357 hp/ton). Ferrari claims it take only 3.95 seconds to sprint from zero to 60 mph, 9.2 seconds to 100 mph and 21.4 sec to 150 mph. This is also fully trustable. This means the Ferrari's performance at least matches Lamborghini Gallardo. Maybe marginally quicker.
Storming performance aside, drivers will praise the much improved tractability of the larger capacity V8. Not only maximum torque is increased from 275 lbft to 343 lbft at 5250 rpm, the engine now delivers serious punch from 3000 rpm upward. This should silent those criticized 360 Modena for lack of low-end grunt.
The 4308cc V8 is an all-new design instead of an evolution of the old V8, whose history can date back to the 348-era. It shares the basic aluminum block with Maserati’s 4.2-litre V8, with 1mm longer stroke accounting for the increased capacity. Like the 360 engine, it runs a flat-plane crankshaft (unlike Maserati's fully-balanced cross-plane crankshaft), sacrifices a little refinement in exchange for lightness, hence higher rev and power. Other reciprocating moving parts are also lightweight items, including forged aluminum pistons and titanium connecting rods. In order to enhance thermal efficiency, the engine runs a 11.3:1 compression, up from the 360 and Maserati’s 11.1:1.
The cylinder head is a big departure from 360 Modena's. First of all, it dumped the 5-valve design and gone back to 4 valves per cylinder. Why? Ferrari engineering boss Amedeo Felisa said, "there is no more need of the fifth valve". Seeing the recent trend of development in F1 engines as well as the Enzo supercar’s V12, we can only agree it's the end of the 5-valve era.
The cylinder head also employs a better variable valve timing system - the outgoing 360 engine employed only a discreet-type VVT at the exhaust valves while the overcrowded intake valves did not have VVT. In contrast, the new V8 employs a continuous-type VVT at both intake and exhaust camshafts like the Maserati V8. This ensure optimized valve timing and larger overlapping to improve output across the whole rev range.
(www.autozine.org)
So, here comes the new F430. Externally, it looks like a facelift of 360 Modena. Basically, all the critical dimensions are unchanged, such as wheelbase, width, height and tracks. Thankfully, the sexy shape of 360 Modena also retains.
Based on the beautiful design of 360, Pininfarina and Ferrari design chief Frank Stephenson injected more aggressiveness, such as a pair of vertical headlamps, Enzo-style half-recessed taillights, big oval front intakes (inspired by Ferrari 156 Grand Prix car of the early 60s), additional ventilation holes here and there... most of these modifications are driven by functions rather than art, but Ferrari once again proved that beautiful designs and functions are not mutually exclusive.
The tail of F430 incorporates a larger diffuser. Together with other underbody aerodynamic tweaks, it produces a lot more downforce than the already outstanding 360. For example, at 300km/h (186mph), it generates 280kg of downforce (130kg front, 150kg rear), compare to the Modena's 195kg. Remember, this is achieved without seeking help from any external spoilers. At the same time, drag coefficient remains unchanged at 0.33. F430 might look like a facelifted 360, but underneath the familiar shape is a vastly improved machine. A total of 70% parts are redesigned, most notably is the new 4.3-litre V8 engine. It produces 90 more horsepower than the outgoing 3.6-litre V8, taking the total horsepower count to 490. Astonishingly, that’s more than the mighty F40, yet this is just the entry level Ferrari today !
Ferrari claims F430 can top more than 196 mph, which we have no reasons to disbelieve. As for acceleration, despite of a weight increase of 60kg, F430 still boosts considerably higher power to weight ratio than its predecessor (338 hp/ton vs 288 hp/ton), even beating Lamborghini Gallardo (329 hp/ton), if not Ford GT (357 hp/ton). Ferrari claims it take only 3.95 seconds to sprint from zero to 60 mph, 9.2 seconds to 100 mph and 21.4 sec to 150 mph. This is also fully trustable. This means the Ferrari's performance at least matches Lamborghini Gallardo. Maybe marginally quicker.
Storming performance aside, drivers will praise the much improved tractability of the larger capacity V8. Not only maximum torque is increased from 275 lbft to 343 lbft at 5250 rpm, the engine now delivers serious punch from 3000 rpm upward. This should silent those criticized 360 Modena for lack of low-end grunt.
The 4308cc V8 is an all-new design instead of an evolution of the old V8, whose history can date back to the 348-era. It shares the basic aluminum block with Maserati’s 4.2-litre V8, with 1mm longer stroke accounting for the increased capacity. Like the 360 engine, it runs a flat-plane crankshaft (unlike Maserati's fully-balanced cross-plane crankshaft), sacrifices a little refinement in exchange for lightness, hence higher rev and power. Other reciprocating moving parts are also lightweight items, including forged aluminum pistons and titanium connecting rods. In order to enhance thermal efficiency, the engine runs a 11.3:1 compression, up from the 360 and Maserati’s 11.1:1.
The cylinder head is a big departure from 360 Modena's. First of all, it dumped the 5-valve design and gone back to 4 valves per cylinder. Why? Ferrari engineering boss Amedeo Felisa said, "there is no more need of the fifth valve". Seeing the recent trend of development in F1 engines as well as the Enzo supercar’s V12, we can only agree it's the end of the 5-valve era.
The cylinder head also employs a better variable valve timing system - the outgoing 360 engine employed only a discreet-type VVT at the exhaust valves while the overcrowded intake valves did not have VVT. In contrast, the new V8 employs a continuous-type VVT at both intake and exhaust camshafts like the Maserati V8. This ensure optimized valve timing and larger overlapping to improve output across the whole rev range.
(www.autozine.org)
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