The last time I drove a Ferrari F430, I came to the conclusion that there wasn't much wrong with it. Little did I know, that seemingly near-perfect car was a tad heavy, a bit underpowered, and--most surprising of all--lacking in electronic driver aids. So while the world at large seemed quite happy with the F430, Ferrari was coldly dismantling the car on a part-by-part basis and examining it, literally down to each lug nut, to figure out how it might get the machine to go just a little bit faster. Ferrari, it seems, has been hard at work addressing all the concerns you didn't know you had.
The result is the 430 Scuderia, a car that looks like an F430 and goes like an Enzo. You may recall that the Enzo was Ferrari's masterwork just a few years back, a V-12-powered showcase of everything Ferrari knew about building road cars. The Enzo would get around the company's Fiorano test track in 1 minute and 25 seconds, currently the record for a street-legal machine. The F430, for all its considerable wiles, does the Fiorano deed in 1 minute and 27 seconds--respectfully behind the big dog. But the 430 Scuderia reclaims those two seconds for the V-8 berlinetta camp, going wheel-to-wheel with Ferrari's all-time hero car. That's insane.... Read full article