First Test: 2008 Ferrari 430 Scuderia Enzo, Schmenzo: You own one of the 380-some surviving Enzos and think your carbon-fiber V-12 baby is the shizzle? Think again. Thats right. The 430 Scuderia, a V-8-powered, aluminum volume-sales model we all kind of assumed was just another lightened, mid-cycle riff on the F430 turns out to be one serious supercar. It may be Ferraris 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 F1 world champions -- will be able to drive the fastest on demanding roads or race circuits without winding up on wreckedexotics. Granted, the 503-hp 430 carries 18-percent-more weight per filly than does the 651-hp Enzo and it lacks the Enzos 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 Dario Benuzzis 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 3.1 seconds to the Enzos comparatively pedestrian 3.4. Granted, by the quarter mile the Enzos power advantage vaults it ahead by 0.2 second and almost 7 mph, but on shorter circuits like the 1.8-mile Pista di Fiorano theres 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 Michael might have been sandbagging just a skosh in the name of saving Enzos face until the next limited-run V-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 extensively 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 lb off the F430. A host of detail refinements to the 4.3L flat-plane-crankshaft V-8 added 20 hp and 4 lb-ft of peak output, but fattens the torque on either side of the peak by a bunch more, making the overall performance feel like much more than a four-percent improvement. Stickier Pirelli PZero Corsa tires (10 mm wider in front), plus lowered (0.6 in.), 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 1-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 Scuderias drag coefficient in five percent under the Enzos. Next, the ever-evolving F1 paddle-shift automated manual gearbox controls have been hyper-caffeinated to deliver shifts in an unfathomable 60 milliseconds. This new F1-SuperFast2s shifts happen in about a quarter of the time required for a manual shift-or for a shift in the first-generation F1 box in the Enzo, for that matter.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 14:06:33 +0000
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