Road Test
Ferrari F430
Test date 28 June 2005
Price as tested £128,275
For Power, noise, chassis, brakes, sense of occasion
AgainstSlightly disappointing pace, could use more torque
The F430 is the latest in a long line of mid-engined Ferraris, starting with the V6-powered 246 Dino of the late ’60s. The Dino was replaced by the 308, a mid-engined V8 and in many ways the true progenitor of the species. The 308 spawned the 328 then, in 1990, the disappointing 348. In 1994, the F355 arrived with an all-new five-valve-per-cylinder engine design and five years later the F360 was the first to boast an all-aluminium body.
For a company that forged its reputation with six- and 12-cylinder engines, Ferrari has taken its V8 a long way. Since its inception in the 1973 308 GT4, the V8 has been the entry-level Ferrari. But how can we class this 483bhp, 200mph projectile as ‘entry-level’? Incredibly, this is a baby Ferrari with more power than the F40. In performance the F430 is far beyond that one-time rival, the Porsche 911. Today its rivals come from Sant’Agata, in the form of the 492bhp Lamborghini Gallardo, and Gaydon, in the shape of the 6.0-litre 450bhp V12 Aston Martin DB9.
It has become a frequent complaint that Ferraris are no longer beautiful. But the F430, although still not classically beautiful, is a truly dramatic car with a much more aggressive stance than the 360 and real grace from certain angles. It’s most obviously different from the 360 at the front, where large nostrils echo the shape of the early 1960s ‘sharknose’ Ferrari F1 cars. New, smaller, bi-xenon headlamps sit above these intakes, while a slash in the valance in front of both wheels allows the hot air from the radiators an efficient escape path.
Your Say