2007 Ferrari F430
It is a car that can make an average driver look like a hero, and a skilled driver can dance with it all day long and never grow tired of its moves.
Is the Ferrari F430 the world’s most perfect sports car? It’s hard to argue against it, especially in Spider configuration, where all the coupe’s virtues are magnified without losing any performance. Heralded as Ferrari’s finest sports car (which says a lot about its abilities and sophistication), it’s neither the most expensive nor fastest Ferrari, but it may very well be the best combination of speed, handling, and accessible performance. It is a car that can make an average driver look like a hero, and a skilled driver can dance with it all day long and never grow tired of its moves.
This particular 2009 F430 F1 Spider is in near new condition, thanks to exceptional maintenance and care at the hands of an enthusiastic owner. Finished in Racing Red with a black canvas top and a tan leather interior, it is the quintessential Ferrari color scheme dating back to the 1950s. The body is the very definition of form following function, and the myriad scoops, vents, and spoilers combine to create a car that is rock steady, even at its top speed of 186 MPH—with the top down! Ferrari chose to forego the folding hardtop because such a mechanism would obscure the view of the beautiful red valve covers under the clear plexiglass engine cover. Instead, Seven electrohydraulic motors fold up the canvas top and stack it flat in a tiny compartment hidden under the headrest fairings, and top up, the profile nearly matches the handsome shape of the coupe.
Showing just 13,641 original miles, this car has been properly serviced, and has always been a fair-weather toy. The spectacular Ferrari paint and aluminum bodywork are in nearly new condition, with on a few signs of use that are perfectly appropriate to a car designed to be driven as this one is. Never in an accident or damaged, the body panels and paint are 100% factory original and show signs of careful maintenance since new. The Perspex engine cover that shows off the potent 4.3 liter V8 is scratch-free and remains crystal clear. The power convertible top folds effortlessly and shows no signs of wear or damage.
The tan leather interior carries optional Daytona leather seats, which are designed to mimic the seats in the legendary 365 Daytona of the early 1970s. They’re well-bolstered for spirited driving, and extremely comfortable for even long drives. Everywhere you look there are materials and workmanship that will delight you: carbon fiber trim, contrasting red stitching on the black leather steering wheel and dashboard, and even aluminum toe panels for the passenger, which mirrors the pedals for the driver. Showing almost zero wear and no damage, the interior of the F430 Spider is extremely well preserved. You’ll also note that this car is equipped with the F1 clutchless gearbox, whose shift speed and firmness can be adjusted using the Manettino switch on the steering wheel, which also controls the level of electronic intervention of things like the traction control, stability control, Skyhook suspension, and the E-Diff electronic differential. The car also includes a powerful AM/FM/CD stereo system and highly effective climate controls, a far cry from the basic, unreliable systems of earlier Ferraris. A transparent polycarbonate wind blocker between the seats helps keep hats in place and the conversation two settings below shouting as long as the engine isn’t belting out its tenor wail.
Powered by a mid-mounted 4.3-liter 32-valve DOHC V8 engine, the F430 makes 483 sonorous horsepower at a dizzying 8500 RPM. With one of the highest specific outputs of any production engine on earth, it is more akin to a race motor for the street than a transportation appliance. One trip through the gears listening to the wail of the mighty V8 and you’ll be hooked for life, looking for excuses to tip the steering wheel-mounted paddles and drop down one or two gears. The thrust it generates is like a narcotic, and the effortless ease with which it dispatches slower traffic will make you grin like an escaped convict. Handling is about as good as it gets for street-legal cars, with perfect fore-and-aft balance and precise steering that all but speaks to you in real-time Italian about what's going on below. The suspension is undoubtedly firm, as it should be on a car with this one’s capabilities. The carbon/ceramic brakes are powerful, and their high-temperature performance is superior in every way to conventional steel or iron rotors—you will never, ever run out of brakes in this car. Those gorgeous 19-inch alloys wear relatively recent Bridgestone Potenza performance radials.
With up-to-date service records, this F430 Spider is ready to drive and enjoy this summer. Of course, describing a car like this is like preaching to the choir—it’s likely that anyone interested in such a car already knows as much about it as I do, if not more, so the highest praise I can give it is that it has lived a gentle life and has been properly serviced by an authorized Ferrari service facility. Loaded with options and with performance that still sparkles despite the arrival of the only incrementally faster 456 Italia, the F430 Spider is a very special car indeed. This is a very fine example that certainly delivers on the thrills that its shape promises.
