Ferrari F430

The Ferrari F430 is a sports car that was produced by the Italian automaker Ferrari from 2004 to 2009, as a successor to the 360. It debuted at the 2004 Paris Motor Show. Its replacement, the Ferrari 458 Italia, was unveiled on 28 July 2009.

The MSRP for a Ferrari F430 was $186,925 to $217,318 in the United States, £119,500 in the United Kingdom, approximately €175,000 in the European Union, and $379,000 for the base model to $450,000 for the Spider F1 in Australia and New Zealand.

The body styling of the F430 was revised from its predecessor, the Ferrari 360, to improve its aerodynamic efficiency. Although the drag coefficient remained the same, downforce was greatly enhanced. Despite sharing the same basic Alcoa Aluminium chassis, roof line, doors and glass, the car looked significantly different than the 360. A great deal of Ferrari heritage was included in the exterior design. At the rear, the Enzo's tail lights and interior vents were added. The car's name was etched into the Testarossa-styled driver's side mirror. The large oval openings in the front bumper are reminiscent of Ferrari racing models from the 60s, specifically the 156 "sharknose" Formula One car and 250 TR61 Le Mans cars of Phil Hill.

The F430 features a 4.3L V8 gas engine derived from a shared Ferrari/Maserati design. This new power plant was a significant departure for Ferrari, as all previous Ferrari V8's were descendants of the Dino racing program of the 1950s. This fifty-year development cycle came to an end with the entirely new 4.3L, the architecture of which is expected to replace the Dino-derived V12 in most other Ferrari cars. The engine's output specifications are: 490 PS at 8500 rpm and 465 N·m of torque at 5250 rpm, 80% of which is available below 3500rpm. Despite a 20% increase in displacement, engine weight grew by only 4 kg and engine dimensions were decreased, for easier packaging. The connecting rods, pistons and crankshaft were all entirely new, while the four-valve cylinder head, valves and intake trumpets were copied directly from Formula 1 engines, for ideal volumetric efficiency. The F430 has a top speed of 196 mph and can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in 4.0 seconds, 0.3 seconds quicker than the old model.

The brakes on the F430 were designed in close cooperation with Brembo and Bosch, resulting in a new cast-iron alloy for the discs. The new alloy includes molybdenum which has better heat dissipation performance. The F430 was also available with the optional Carbon fibre-reinforced Silicon Carbide ceramic composite brake package. Ferrari claims the carbon ceramic brakes will not fade even after 300-360 laps at their test track.

The F430 featured the E-Diff, a computer-controlled limited slip active 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 ESC system, "Skyhook" electronic suspension, transmission behavior, throttle response, and E-Diff. The feature is similar to Land Rover's "Terrain Response" system.

The Ferrari F430 was also released with exclusive Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3 EMT tires, which have a V-shaped tread design, run-flat capability, and OneTRED technology.

In the US, the company requested an exemption from the airbag design requirements, which was eventually granted, allowing the car to continue to be sold in the US.

Built since 2006 by Ferrari Corse Clienti department in collaboration with Michelotto Automobili, the F430 GTC is a racing car designed to compete in international GT2 class competition, such as in the American Le Mans Series, Le Mans Series, and FIA GT Championship. F430 GTCs also compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The GTC was the fastest and most developed racing version of the F430.

In FIA GT2 championship, in order to render the car performances more uniform, the cars are forced to run with a specific minimum weight and with an engine restrictor that depends on the engine displacement. Hence the 4.3 L V8 engine in GT2 races is destroked to 4.0 L in order to compete in the 3.8–4.0 L class, which is allowed to race with a minimum weight of 1,100 kg. Using the 4.3 L engine, the minimum weight of the F430 would increase by 50 kg. In this race configuration, the engine produces somewhat less power, but this is compensated by the lower car weight, which yields a better Power-to-weight ratio.

The F430 GTCs won their class championships in the ALMS and FIA GT, as well as scoring class wins at the 2007, 2009 and 2010 12 Hours of Sebring, at the 2008 and 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans and at the 2008 and 2009 Petit Le Mans.

In February 2009, Ferrari recalled about 2,000 2005–2007 F430 Spiders in the U.S., due to the risk that heat from the engine could cause the soft top hydraulic hoses to fracture and leak flammable fluid onto the V8 motor, resulting in a fire.

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