Forza Ferrari!

In fact several motor industry PRs and marketing types will concur to a level of irritation when I rock up at launch with a Ferrari lapel on my blazer, wearing a Ferrari shirt or my newest red shoes to drive their latest new product. Particularly some of those with teams being bashed by the red cars in F1...

The reason for my defiance is quite simple — I grew up around Ferraris. My grandfather had the first Ferrari in SA and he was a good friend of the Commendatore. And when I went on holiday with him as a kid, I'd sit on cushions in the gap behind the seat of his fourth Ferrari — a silver 275 GTB — behind him and my grandmother.

And when the Ferrari came to the SA Grand Prix, I was part of the team — running its Heuer top speed kit at the end of the main straight.

So call me spoiled, call me whatever you like, but I'm a Ferrari fan beyond help. And I'm more than just proud of it.

This morning, though, I'm dressed appropriately for once - Ferrari shirt and shoes donned to drive — yes, a Ferrari! It isn't every day that we have a privilege like this, but F430 has arrived and following some months of negotiation with Ferrari importers Viglietti and Gauteng Dealers Rosso Sport, the day has dawned and we're at WesBank Raceway to meet the sublime newcomer from Maranello.

You don't even have to see F430 to appreciate it's all new. 360 was one of the best sounding cars I've ever heard — its wail, building up trumpet-like from just off idle to an incredible crescendo. 430 has a different sound. Yes that wail is still there under power albeit a bit gruffer, but it's accompanied by a more mechanical din — a clatter similar to that I remember as a kid from those Coventry Climax F1 mills — and its something I haven't heard since — except at Goodwood.

Fact is 430's mill is all new. Derived from the Maserati Quattroporte V8, it was always intended to be the power plant for F430, albeit in a considerably more advanced state of tune. The 4.308-litre quad-cam 32-valve V8 produces 368kW at a lofty 8500 rpm — the highest revving at present, I believe, of any production vehicle, with a limit just shy of nine grand. And it's a beautiful piece of work, too — just as the latest Ferrari engine should be.

At 112bhp per litre, F430 is also right on the button in the specific power stakes too — only the Honda S2000 betters that. But the Fezza has torque, too — 450Nm at a relatively lofty 5250rpm peak, but it's generously spread throughout the band. That's what makes all the difference this time around. The longitudinally installed midships V8 drives through Ferrari's latest, robotically commanded six-speed manual 'box in our F430 F1 test unit.

Another novel feature on our test unit are the optional ceramic brakes that not only look brilliant clamped by those giant red Brembo callipers, but add a whack of retardation to an already impressive braking performance, while suspension is courtesy of double wishbones with performance dampers, coil springs and anti-roll bars front and back.

Continuing a tradition

The compact Ferrari continues a 1960s tradition through into the new millennium. Starting with a car that represented Enzo's grief in losing his son, the 246 Dino was a stunning little mid-engined 'baby' Ferrari that did not bear Ferrari badges, but rather blue on yellow logos depicting the late Dino's autograph. Dino was also the first rear-engined Ferrari that flew in the face of the old man's ideology that 'the cart must be behind the horse', but it was the beginning of something big.

Dino was followed by the 308 — the stunning looking Ferrari that Thomas Magnum PI drove and your wife probably still lusts after today. 308 (three-litre V8) was followed by the highly revised 328, before the all-new 348 replaced it. Since then, 355 and F360 have moved the entry Ferrari into the new millennium and away from the previous capacity-and-cylinders nomenclature to pure capacity monikers.

F430 is more than just a reworked 360 (some components are common, but that's where it ends). F430 isn't only the finest Ferrari yet — its possibly the finest ever sports car.

This car is delightful from any angle — something some of its contemporary stablemates can't even boast these days. That double-snorkel grille so well lifted from the '61 twin-nostril 156 F1 and 206 sportscars — the progenitors, after all of the Dino and thus this car, too — are gloriously incorporated into a simple, yet so effective nose rounded off by minimalist, yet attractive headlamp clusters.

Exit vents ahead of the front wheels and an inlet along the bottom of the door, along with another that harks all the way back to 246 Dino on the shoulder line up behind the front door, combine to comprise a set of angles that add purpose and aggression, but the rear view doesn't disappoint, either.

The now traditional Ferrari quad round taillights poking up and out of the rear spoiler crease line are squared off well by the pair of double exhausts protruding the pair of nacelles on each bottom corner, while that comprehensive undertray venturi is well incorporated into the rear end.

Piece de resistance

But the piece de resistance has to be that engine peeping out through the Perspex rear cover between a row of vents each side. The 4.3-litre V8 with its typical Ferrari crinkle-red double manifold flanking a red Scuderia Ferrari cavallino badge nestles between exposed silver chassis legs. F430's glorious red bodywork is well contrasted by stunning silver wheels, themselves contrasted by the grey-brown ceramic discs and those red callipers.

Open the door and you're initially struck by the red-on-black leather, but once inside the immediate reaction is how comfortable and user friendly this Ferrari is. I was quickly at home, in my preferred driving position thanks to a widely adjustable seat and steering. No more 'Italian monkey' driving style here.

I was soon toying with the 'manettino' switch — a bit of F1 tech on the steering that allows you to select one of five driving modes like Schumacher does in his F1 Ferrari — off the little dial-switch on the right bottom of the steering boss. This is real F1 stuff — it also helps you remember that this is a Ferrari...

For the rest, the cockpit is a celebration of leather, velvet and carbonfibre, while that F1 world championship 2000-2004 on the far end of the dash again keeps you in touch with exactly what you're driving. The rear-view mirror allows you to glance back over that twin red manifold every time as if to further remind you where you are, while the side mirrors catch a glimpse of those engine intakes behind.

Barking to life

Press the start button on the other side of the steering boss and F430 barks to life. That mechanical din is evident all the time and the engine seems to explode off idle as you feather it thanks to the idle noise cut-off valve in the exhaust. Put your foot on the brake, pull the + lever back and you're in business.

F1 de-clutches easily and pulls away smoothly — the Ferrari system is now as sophisticated as BMW's SMG, which once enjoyed an advantage in the robotised gearbox world, it shifts seamlessly and clutch action integrates well with your driving. The only drawback I found is that he robot gear paddles are fixed to the steering column rather than the wheel itself.

The most noticeable thing about F430 though, is its now complete power band — oodles of grunt from right down at the bottom replaces the finicky manner of this car's predecessor.

Ferrari has built a supercar that doubles as an everyday runabout at last...

Hitting the track

Our test unit is brand new - it's not even done 600km yet, so there won't be any flat out driving today, but even twisting out of WesBank's pits onto the track, the 430's poise and finesse is immediately apparent.

A slow lap to start shows off a single-seater like poise and balance and even still, that noise is well, awesome.

The robo 'box works even better when asked and that torque gives way to a sensational power so fantastically emphasised by that wonderful noise, which echoes off the concrete walls we're flashing past to make for an even wilder experience that I'm already experiencing.

And you can dial your driving preference right now into the mannetino to tune F430 to exactly what you want from it, but whatever you do, this Ferrari adapts to what you want.

Ferrari seems to have achieved what Porsche always has - building a hybrid supercar that's as refined and all-rounded as a BMW or a Merc in every other way, too.

It was this lack of this versatility that was always the missing link in Ferrari's chain — its cars were always brilliant, but highly strung.

In F430, Maranello has dialled that missing ingredient into the mix spectacularly — you can even fit a fair amount of luggage into F430. And the car seems to be as user friendly as anything else you can buy.

F430 is also the most Ferrari like Ferrari in all the aspects that would draw you to one in the first place and it's clear that they have hit the jackpot this time around.

Perhaps the only downside of the F430 then is its price. That side of R2-million, yes, it is considerably cheaper than the car it replaces, so that in itself represents a bargain. Yet in the US they complain that it's expensive at a snip over a million rand at current exchange rates, and it will cost you this side of one and a half bar in the UK, while other supercars can be had at a rate far closer to those charged for the same car in other markets.

That said, there are only four F430s in SA right now and their number is unlikely to increase by much more than that amount for the next couple, so your exclusivity is guaranteed.

So here we have a Ferrari with all the looks, pedigree, specification, chic and style you'd ever want from one, it's as fast as most anything you can toss at it and it has the all-roundedness that you expect from a Porsche, but perhaps not from a Ferrari.

Which means that the F430 is the most complete Ferrari ever, and even at the price, probably the most complete sports car ever...

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