As mentioned many times before, I always found the F430 to be the best out of the Ferrari V8 line up in terms of driving feel. It is modern enough to have decent performance, but also old enough to be raw and engaging, even with the F1 gearbox. The newer V8 Ferrari’s that I have driven, including the 488 and Portofino, were all too digitalized for me, despite the superior performance. As such, I have always wanted to try (and on some drunken nights, even contemplated buying) the 430 Scuderia, the ultimate iteration of the F430 model.
The whole light weight road version V8 idea actually started with the 348, and not the more well-known 360 Challenge Stradale. In the 90’s, Ferrari released the 348 GT Competizione, a lightweight track-focused version of the 348 with wider tailormade two-piece wheels, F40 seats etc. Unfortunately, they only made 50 of them, and only 8 in RHD (two of which reside in Hong Kong!) Ferrari skipped the light weight road spec for the 355 and jumped straight to the mighty 360 Challenge Stradale. By the time the F430 came out, everyone expected the light weight version to follow suit, no doubt thanks to the 360 Challenge Stradale’s success and Stuttgart’s challenge with their equivalent model – the GT3RS. In 2007, Ferrari revealed the 430 Scuderia at the Frankfurt Auto Show, by none other than legendary F1 driver Michael Schumacher, who actively participated in the development of the car.
The 430 Scuderia is 100KG lighter than the ordinary F430, achieved with the extensive use of carbon fibre and deletion of unnecessary parts like sound deadening materials. It uses a tuned up version of the F430’s F136 engine (an all new engine that departed from the preceding 360 Modena’s F131 engine which could trace its roots back to the 308) with power output increased from the F430’s 490HP to 505HP. The exterior has subtle changes over the F430; unlike the light weight versions these days which all have very aggressive and in-your-face designs. Personally, I prefer the more angular front bumper of the 430 Scuderia as well as the exhaust layout in the rear, both different from the F430. Finally, another important difference is the F1 transmission, the 430 Scuderia uses the F1 Superfast II transmission, which is the ultimate version of Ferrari’s single-clutch F1 gearbox, as the 458 Italia went to the dual-clutch system. Shifting of the F1 Superfast II only requires 60 milliseconds, so pretty much quicker than you can blink.
I legitimately always thought of buying a 430 Scuderia, before they get even more expensive. But like many, I thought, it couldn’t be that much better than the F430. I was wrong. Behind the wheels, before even starting the engine, you immediately feel the difference in the atmosphere, with all the carbon fibre and aluminium nakedly visible to you. You start the car and at idle it sounds similar enough to the F430, but the similarity stops there. You go into first gear and even the sound the transmission makes is louder and more dramatic than the ordinary car. When stepping on it the entire power band of the car is different from the F430, the torque and power is almost instant-like and it paces up the revs frantically. It feels like a much more free and unrestricted car than the F430. In fact, candidly, it feels nothing like the F430, they are just two different cars. The Scuderia does not feel like it ever runs out of breath, the higher rev you go the more it opens up, something you can’t say of the F430. The F1 Superfast II shifts in lightning speed and at lower rev’s it jolts you in a raw and addictive way. This is really the closest thing to a race car that I have ever driven and I am now a believer of the premium that it demands over the ordinary car. Ferrari really made something special with the 430 Scuderia, and the owner of this car clearly agrees because the car that he had prior to the 430 Scuderia? A 488 Pista…
Huge thanks to the generous owner for lending us his car, and as always thank you to the team for making this video possible:
Alex (http://www.taipanmedia.com)
Alex C. (IG: @nofishshark)
Icy J (IG: @icyj95)
See our review video here: