Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Ferrari F430

Today, I thought a Ferrari F430 would be in order since Ferrari manufactures such fabulous machines! Ferrari has typically been know for their supercars, and in Europe for their racing prowess. Not only are Ferrari's state of the art super cars, they are art works....exceptionally beautiful designs. Ferrari's are hand built in a state of the art plant located in Maranello, Italy.

Ferrari was founded in 1928 by Enzo Ferrari, the company was engaged in racing and manufacturing race cars before moving into production of street legal sports cars vehicles in 1947. Enzo never wanted to manufacture cars but he needed the cash flow to support his racing activities. Ferrari has raced mainly in Formula One, where it has enjoyed tremendous success.
After years of financial struggles, Enzo Ferrari sold the company's sports car division to the Fiat group in 1969 to ensure continued financial backing. Enzo Ferrari retained control of the racing division until his death in 1988 at the age of 90. Earlier that year he had overseen the launch of the Ferrari F40, the last new Ferrari to be launched before his death, and arguably one of the most famous supercars ever made.
The F430's all aluminum chassis was produced in partnership with Alcoa and is virtually identical to that of the previous model, the Ferrari 360. In the F430 it has been slightly re-worked and shares a lot of common parts including the same roof, doors, front windshield and passenger compartment to engine glass.
The MSRP for a Ferrari F430 is between $168,005–$227,000 in the United States. The F430 is sold starting at about £120,000 in the United Kingdom, approximately 175,000 in the European Union and $389,000 for the base model in Australia.

The brakes on the F430 were designed in coordination with Brembo, resulting in a new cast-iron alloy for the discs. The new alloy includes molybdenum which has better heat dissipation performance. Another option Ferrari is providing are ceramic composite discs. Ceramics have much higher resistance to heat and brake fade than metals, the F430's brakes offer not only excellent performance but also a longer lifespan. Ferrari claims the brakes will not fade even after 300-360 laps at their test track. Check out this Racing Flix video!

Car and Driver magazine found the car's performance worthy of the Ferrari heritage, and recorded a 3.5 sec 0-60 mph acceleration run in the F430. This makes it the third-quickest Ferrari road car ever made, following the Enzo and the 599 GTB. That particular recorded time was made on a European spec car, which has an unusual feature...launch control, which launches the car from a standing start at high RPMs. Launch control is unavailable in U.S. presumably due to liability issues. The U.S.-spec F430 can do 0-60 mph in 3.6 seconds .

Information in this post is via Wikipedia!

12 comments:

  1. Peter, what a beautiful car you choose to write about today. They are a joy to look at. The Ferarri is a great looking car. I also what to thank you for the beauty in the slide show that you have in the upper right hand side. Very nice. Great job Peter. Very enjoyable to visit your blog.
    Dan and Deanna "Marketing Unscrambled"

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  2. Hi Dan & Deanna,

    I agree that the Ferrari's are such beautiful cars! The Italians have this sense of style that comes across in the styling.

    Thank you for your visiting my blog and your wonderful comments!

    Pete Baca
    The Car Enthusiast Online

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  3. Pete, It is great article with full of information. It is now armed with full stretch of electronics as well. Ferrari tried to commercialize their products for a while, I guess, but this kind of speed car is like Ferrari for me, and I like that.

    Thank you for your shring.

    Shaw Funami
    Fill the Missing Link

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  4. Hello Shaw,

    Thank you for your comment regarding the Ferrari F430! I watched a video on the plant in Maranello. They have very accurate tolerances and standards for building the car. It is a fabulous addictive machine!

    If I purchased one it would driven fast! I am of the opinion that Ferrari's should be red, therefore I will take mine in red.

    Pete Baca
    The Car Enthusiast Online

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  5. Hi Pete

    You had me at Hello on this post. Just the picture said a thousand words to me. Can you say OMG!

    Thanks for the increase in heart beat..
    Giovanna Garcia
    Imperfect Action is better than No Action

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  6. Hi Pete .. that's a beautiful car - red one for me too .. one day I shall be having a ride in or a drive of one ..

    The car plant video at Maranello must have been quite an eye opener ..

    Hilary Melton-Butcher
    Positive Letters

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  7. Hi Giovanna,

    I agree it is a beautiful car! It drives just like it looks, with the power increasing in a linear fashion. This car was made to drive fast!

    The Ferrari 430 is such an exceptional car that people are entralled! Welcome to the club!

    Pete Baca
    The Car Enthusiast Online

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  8. Hilary,

    You read the comments, Ferrari's should be made in only one color. It just fits that car!

    You have had some fabulous cars in your automotive history! I am sure that you would look good in that car!

    Best Regards

    Pete Baca
    The Car Enthusiast Online

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  9. Peter, Thank you for the comments that you made on our blog. The answer to your question is up now. That is still a great car. Red is good, the cop like it most as well for giving speeding tickets to, so look out for the cops when you are going fast.
    Dan and Deanna "Marketing Unscrambled"

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  10. Dan & Deanna,

    You really had me chuckling here! Your are so... right! The car will be a cop magnet! A radar detector would be in order, along with an attorney on retainer.

    It is a car that seems like your going much slower than you actually are! Unfortunately, around here there are so many cars that it is hard to drive a car really fast.

    I had an opportunity to drive a number of cars thru a course at the former El Toro Air Force base. That would be a place to run this car thru! I had a blast!

    Thanks for reading my blog and commenting!

    Best Regards

    Pete Baca
    The Car Enthusiast Online

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  11. Pete,

    What an amazing car. Ferrari is such an amazing company always throwing out nothing but the best. I got the pleasure of seeing an Enzo ferrari pass me on the highway. It is one of the fastest cars ever made and the body looks amazing.

    Dr. Moulas

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  12. Hi Dr. Bob,

    The Enzo is a tremendous machine...and expensive at $1 million USD. I am not a fan of the Enzo styling myself...I prefer some of the other models.

    Ferrari is coming out with the 500 which is a 430 replacement! Stay tuned it is a gorgeous car!

    Thanks for commenting!

    Pete Baca
    The Car Enthusiast Online

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