Ferrari F430 (2005 - To Date)
BY ANDY ENRIGHT
Ferrari is a company unaccustomed to second best. Awash with money, it will stop at nothing to achieve superiority. The trouble is, theres a very well bankrolled outfit just down the road called Lamborghini who have proven something of a meddlesome irritant to Ferrari. Their Gallardo comprehensively aced Ferraris 360 but the senior suits at Maranello put on their best poker faces and observed the omertà. When it was finally unveiled, their F430 was quite some riposte. Some vehicles are stress-free buys second time round but Ferraris rarely fall into that category. Is a used F430 a viable proposition or merely a diverting way of setting banknotes aflame?
The aluminium chassis is draped in lightweight alloy body panels. Carbon ceramic brakes are offered as an option and many 360 details remain, such as the basic suspension layout and that glazed-in engine window at the rear. Electronically variable dampers akin to Maseratis Skyhook system debut and the geometry and assistance of the rack and pinion steering have been sharpened. One area where the 360 Modena disappointed slightly was in the rather uninspring design of its interior.
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The fascia is trimmed in leather and the alloy pedals are beautifully finished. The exterior lines are purposeful rather than beautiful. The 360 was no great beauty, many lamenting the F355 and 456 as the last of the truly handsome Ferraris and the F430s silhouette is an evolution of the 360 shape. The shape of the intakes and the headlamps are the key visual cues while the rear end features Enzo-style tail lamps that jut through the line of the rear deck.
Much of the serious aerodynamic work occurs beneath the car. A flat undertray and rear diffuser help adhere the car to the tarmac. Look closely and there is some very tasty detailing, including the monogrammed rear view mirrors and the fantastic alloy wheels.
Improved build quality on contemporary Ferraris has proved a double-edged sword in terms of residual values. While the cars themselves are less flaky than the rather delicate 355 and, to a certain extent, the 360 Modena, this very fact coupled with more streamlined production processes has meant that F430 popularity has taken a slight nick off retained values. Seeing a Ferrari is no longer quite the rarity it once was. A 55-plate Coupe will still fetch £114,000 and delivery mileage cars still attract a premium over list price.
The F1 gearbox has proven very popular and most UK cars are fitted with it, tacking around £6,000 onto the price of a used manual car. The only other option that materially affects used pricing are carbon brakes. Spiders start at around £122,000. Insurance is, as you might expect, Group 20.
The chief bugbear with the F430 is the clutch both on manual cars and F1 models but for very different reasons. The manual cars were subject to a recall due to a pedal that didnt operate the clutch through the last few per cent of its travel, causing overheating and failure. Ensure your car has had the corrective work done. The F1 gearbox has a reputation for eating clutches, especially if the previous owner was a city boy schlepping in and out of town through stop and start traffic.
One personal experience with a Ferrari F430 ended with a hose letting go in the engine bay causing an oil fire after 24 hours of use so perhaps the claims of improved build quality should be taken with a pinch of salt. Maybe it was a rogue car. There are plenty of F430 owners who seem happy with their choice.
(approx based on a 2006 F430 coupe) If youve got the funds to run a new Ferrari F430, chances are youre not going to baulk at paying around £3,500 for a replacement clutch on the manual car or £500 per corner when it comes to tyres.
Unlike its key rivals, the Porsche 911 Turbo and the Lamborghini Gallardo, the F430 doesnt utilise all-wheel drive to deploy its power, instead relying on the same rear-wheel drive mid-engined layout as one of the companys all-conquering Formula One cars. Ferrari may have eschewed four-wheel drive as a principle but theyre not averse to learning a few tricks developed in all-wheel drive cars. An active limited slip differential E-Diff monitors driver inputs, wheel slip, yaw and much more to direct power to whichever of the rear wheels is best equipped to deploy it. In many respects, its not dissimilar to the system Mitsubishi use to great effect in their Evo VIII all-wheel drive rally replica and greatly assists traction without dumbing down the feel in the way that an electronic traction control device is occasionally wont to do.
When the 360 Modena was launched, a suspiciously quick set of performance figures was obtained by one of the leading UK magazines, leading to all sorts of speculation as to whether the car was in standard trim. Certainly a sprint to 100mph of 8.8 seconds was savagely quick, eclipsing anything the 911 Turbo and Gallardo were capable of at the time. For the vastly more accelerative F430, Ferrari claim a maximum speed in excess of 196mph and a sprint to 60mph in comfortably less than four seconds which is enough for most.
Rather reassuringly, Ferrari havent pointlessly chased maximum horsepower. Perhaps knowing that some Mercedes coupes generate over 600bhp has focused the F430 on capability rather than ridiculous power. Besides, the upper echelon of performance cars now seem to have reached a plateau in terms of straight line speed. The F430 instead corners as well as it goes which is what really counts.
The Ferrari F430 is one of the most charismatic modern sports cars but its not without its weak points. Buy one if youre prepared to have an eventful time. If youre looking for something a little less Italianate in character, the later Audi-fied Lamborghinis are one option or you could opt for the metronomic reliability of a Porsche 997 Turbo. None have the sense of occasion of the Ferrari.
To many, thats the key buying criterion when spending this sort of money.
