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ROAD TEST: Ferrari 430 Scuderia
Can a lightweight special really add much to the F430 experience?
Autocar staff  | http://www.autocar.co.uk  |  Posted August 01, 2008   London, UK
Sensational drive, brilliant engine and gearbox, and straight-line performance highlight the Scuderia's virtues. (Autocar photo)
Sensational drive, brilliant engine and gearbox, and straight-line performance highlight the Scuderia's virtues. (Autocar photo)

By supercar standards the regular F430 is not, at 3200lbs, a heavy car. Yet Ferrari has still managed to pinch nearly 110lbs from its weight, paring the 430 Scuderia (they’ve even removed the ‘F’ to illustrate the point) back to 3097lbs as tested.

Most of the interior trim has gone. The mostly aluminum body structure is unchanged but there are lighter materials for the bumpers, rear diffuser and door sill covers, and a Lexan rear window.

The suspension, meanwhile, is lighter through the adoption of hollow anti-roll bars and a lighter steering box and dampers. There are even titanium springs.

Inside, along with binning the sound deadening, Ferrari has fitted carbon fiber-backed seats, a carbon fiber central tunnel, door panels and rear bulkhead, and a lot of carbon fiber on and around the engine.
Unusually, the steering wheel is higher than it is wide, and not quite square at top and bottom. Carbon is optional; we’d prefer more of it to be suede. (Autocar photo)

The internals of the 4.3-liter, 90-degree V8 are largely unchanged, save for new pistons that increase the compression ratio to 11.9:1. But there are also new coils and carbon fiber cam covers, while the pre-catalytic converter has been removed as part of a new, lightweight exhaust. The air inlet pipes are polished internally and there’s a carbon fiber airbox.

The upshot is a 20hp increase in power, to 503hp, and an increase in torque at low revs; 80 per cent of the 347lb ft is available from 3000rpm.
Power is transmitted through Ferrari’s paddle-shifted six-speed robotized manual gearbox (dubbed F1-Superfast2), to the rear wheels via an electronically controlled limited-slip differential. Its modes, plus those of the gearbox, traction and stability controls, can be adjusted by a five-stage manettino dial on the steering wheel.

Brakes are, as standard, carbon-ceramic discs.

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