The 2007 Ferrari 430 Scuderia
Why It's Special:
Continuing the three way battle of factory lightweights, Ferrari has upped the ante on Porsche and Lamborghini with the introduction of the 2007 Ferrari 430 Scuderia. The ‘F’ found in the standard F430 has been dropped in order to further emphasize the changes found in the Scuderia. Needless to say, the changes are numerous and their impact is blatantly clear.
Over 100 kilograms of weight is shed through the liberal use of carbon fiber, a Lexan rear window, titanium coil springs, titanium lug nuts and ultra-light forged alloy wheels. Ferrari even went so far as to engineer dampers that saved 6 ounces of weight each! The sculpture on wheels known as the Pininfarina bodywork has been thoroughly revised to meet the larger demands of Scuderia. More aggressive spoilers both front and rear, in combination with a revised diffuser increase down force to 310 kilograms, an increase of 30 kilograms over the standard car. Larger ducting on the rocker panels feed more cool air to the clutch and rear differential.
Under The Hood:
Amazingly all these changes were accomplished without increasing the coefficient of drag. The 8,700rpm banshee wail emanating from the exhaust pipes is courtesy of the revised 4.3 liter DOHC V8. Featuring a free-flowing intake manifold, revised pistons with a higher compression ratio of 11.88:1, a wide open exhaust and new ignition mapping the engine joyfully cranks out 503hp @ 8,500rpm and 346 lb-ft of torque @ 5,250rpm.
A new F1 Superfast gearbox has upgraded software that allows for 60 millisecond gear-changes, basically the same transmission technology that was used in Ferrari’s F1 car of a couple years ago. Reigning in all this power is a new system from Ferrari, namely the marriage of the E-diff and F1-trac traction control. Basically this allows someone who is not Michael Schumacher extract a very high level of performance from this fine tuned machine.
Speaking of Herr Schumacher, at his insistence a new setting on the manettino (the all-in-one switch on the steering wheel for setting the electronic aids) allows for the F1-trac to be turned off while the stability control is still active. In addition, Schumacher persuaded Ferrari engineers to install a damper override button, where drivers can soften the damper settings at the push of a button. Braking is taken care of by absolutely massive 398mm 6-piston carbon ceramic discs up front and 350mm 4-piston carbon ceramics discs out back.
The Verdict:
The net result of all these modifications produces 0-60 times of 3.6 seconds and a top speed of 198mph. Perhaps most stunning are the lap times around hallowed turns of Fiorano. In the capable hands of Ferrari’s legendary test driver Dario Benuzzi, the 430 Scuderia manages a time of 1:25. So how fast is that you ask, well a certain Ferrari supercar named the Enzo laps at 1:25, with 4 cylinders and 150hp more. Dear Porsche and Lamborghini, scoreboard!
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