Ferrari 430 Scuderia India

The 430 Scuderia, a V-8-powered, aluminum “volume-sales” model we all kind of assumed was just another lightened, midcycle riff on the F430 turns out to be one serious supercar. It may be Ferrari’s best-performing GT car ever, despite its fire-sale $272,306 price. It is unquestionably the Ferrari that mere owners-not factory test drivers or Fl world champions-will be able to drive the fastest on demanding roads or race circuits without winding up on wreckedexotics.com.

Granted, the 503-horse 430 carries 18-percent-more weight per filly than does the 65 I-horse Enzo and it lacks the Enzo’s exotic pushrod-actuated suspension, active aero-gear, and a few other racy touches. And yet with Michael Schumacher at the helm, the 430 Scuderia circulated the fast track at Fiorano in 1 :25.0, equaling test driver Dario Benuzzi’s best run in the Enzo, circa 2003, And indeed our own test equipment recorded a quicker launch in the 430 (1.2 seconds to 30 mph versus 1.4 in our last Enzo) and a blistering 0-to-60 time of just seconds to the Enzo’s comparative pedestrian 3.4. Granted, by the quarter mil e, the Enzo’s power advantage vaults it ahead by 0.2 second and almost seven mph, but on shorter circuits like the 1.8-mile Pista di Fiorano there’s precious little time spent at those speeds. In fact, as development engineer Michele Giaramita explained the many advantages the 430 enjoys at different spots on the track, we had to wonder if Schumacher might’ve been sandbagging just a skosh in the name of saving Enzo’s face until the next limited-runV-12 super¬cavallino arrives. Follow along and see if you agree.

Ferrari took a holistic approach to enhancing the F430, whittling away at anything that slows a car down and applying the latest tricks learned in Formula 1 racing. Power, weight, tires, and suspension were the low-hanging fruit. Using carbon fiber throughout the interior and engine compartment, ditching sound-deadening materials and fitting a Lexan rear window and titanium springs and lug bolts helped shave 220 pounds off the F430. A host of detail refinements to the 4.3-liter flat-plane-crankshaftV-8 added 20 horses and four pound-feet of peak output, but fattens the torque on either side of the peak by a bunch, making the overall performance feel like much more than a four-percent improvement (see “The Down-Low on Torque”). Stickier Pirelli PZero Corsa tires (10 rom wider in front), plus lowered (0.6 inch), stiffer springs (35 percent front/32 percent rear) boost handling, braking, and acceleration-launch performance.

The rest of the improvements are pretty much all Formula I-inspired, starting with the aerodynamics, which are optimized to increase front and rear downforce without resorting to large wings by creating suction underneath the body. A patent-pending “base bleed” method of relieving aerodynamic pressure from the rear-wheel housings helps bring the 430 Scuderia’s drag coefficient in five percent under the Enzo’s (see “Aero-Tica”).Next, the ever-evolving Fl paddle-shift automated manual gearbox controls have been hyper-caffeinated to deliver shifts in an unfathomable 60 milliseconds. This new Fl-SuperFast2’s shifts happen in about a quarter of the time required for a manual shift-or for a shift in the first-generation FI box in the Enzo, for that matter (see “As Good as a Dual-Clutch?”).

The Fl-inspired “Manettino” switch that controls the various drivetrain, suspension, and traction/stability-control systems gets a new setting. In place of the civilian F430’s “Ice” mode is a “CT-Off” mode that eliminates traction control, permitting more tire-spinning drift without completely disabling the stability control.

Another new feature ordered up by Fl-ace Schuey is a soft-suspension override button. Ordinarily the sport-suspension damping is selected in any Manettino position except the base “low road-holding” mode, but when driving in the Race, CT-off, or CST-off (no safety net) settings, a touch of this console-mounted button relaxes the dampers to allow the tires to conform to rough sections of pavement for maximum tire grip.

Technology transfer from Fl to the 430 Scuderia is the Fl- Trac traction/stability-control system, which for the first time on a road car also has authority over the electronically controlled E-Diff2 wet-clutch limited-slip differential. Put simply, this system is designed so that in the Manettino’s “Race” mode, any driver should be able to approach the apex of any turn and simply flat-foot the throttle and steer through letting the electronics modulate brake pressures, engine torque, and differential lockup. The electronic processor time is so fast that you’re never aware of any brake pulsations or electronic jiggery-pokery, you just feel like a pro shoe motoring out of every bend. That faster processor also controls the anti-lock brakes and shares credit with the larger front carbon-ceramic brakes for trimming the F430’s already impressive braking distances by around eight percent to 93 feet from 60 mph and 255 feet from 100. Initial brake bite also is considerably improved from the F430’s, allowing deeper braking points on corner entry. Check out our Fiorano circuit graphic to see where each of the above improvements help the 430 Scuderia catch the mighty Enzo.

Out in the hills above Maranello, these many small improvements combine to form one awesome piece of machinery, made all the sweeter by being a surprisingly complete and comfortable car. There’s no radio (the engine note is worth 1000 iPods) , but it’s well air-conditioned and trimmed in rich Alcantara and leather inside like a proper road car, not a stripped-out racer. Just pulling out of the parking lot, the zillion bits of road grit being thrown up from the tires to the undercarriage suggest these summer gumballs will die young but live spectacularly until then. Motoring through town, it’s a docile sweetheart until you have to reverse. In keeping with Raul Julia’s first rule of Italian driving (”What’s behind me is not important’ ‘), the view out the mirrors is limited, and the Euro-market four-point harness makes it tough to turn for a better look.

Once past the city limits with a long stretch

of open road ahead and no traffic around, you come to a stop, twirl the Manettino to CST-off, engage manual shift mode, first gear, and then hold the downshift paddle until the gear-indicator display alternates between” 1″ and “L” and a tone sounds. Simultaneously release the brake and floor the throttle. Get it right and the tires spin briefly, then hook up for one serious G-sled ride. LEDs on the carbon-fiber steering wheel illuminate at 500-rpm intervals above 6000 rpm. Pull the upshift paddle when they blink at 8500 and with what feels like a strike to the rear bumper from a giant polo mallet, the car jolts forward in the next gear, bellowing with newfound basso profundo.Within minutes, you’re scaling the Emilian Apennines, and a switch to “Race” mode seems prudent.With each curve and switchback, you brake a little later, astonished at the power of these carbon binders. Hit the apex and flat-foot the go-pedal, letting the superfast computers sort out apportioning torque for the hastiest possible exit. A particularly uneven stretch

leaving Pavullo reveals the wisdom of Schumacher’s soft-suspension mode switch, the relaxed suspenders providing better comfort and better braking and road-holding. After an hour of hard running, the route has circled back to Maranello just in the nick of time. Another 10 miles of acclimation to the 430 Scuderia, and you might be forever jaded toward lesser machinery. Like Enzos .