2005 Ferrari F430 Test Drive

Engine As Art

Ferrari's F430 showcases its engine under a glass hood. The forthcoming F430's convertible top won't hamper the view.

Smears of leather-bonding cement on seatbacks and chassis welds that would flunk a Federal Aviation Administration home-built airplane inspection used to be commonplace for Ferraris, despite their legendary status, performance and style. Such were the charming idiosyncrasies of a handmade exotic.

The current Ferrari F430 coupe and its soon-to-be-released convertible version, the Spider, are thoroughly modern and well-built sports cars that dispense with such "charms," despite still being largely assembled by humans and not robots.

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Okay, the F430 isn't quite up to the build standards of German super cars. Peer into the similarly configured engine compartment of a Porsche Carrera GT, which like the F430 has a mid-engine motor just ahead of the rear axle, and you'll find nothing but the most precise crafting and advanced materials. An F430's engine bay may seem crude by comparison. Admittedly the $446,000 Carrera GT is well more than twice the F430's $180,000 base price, but either of those numbers should buy perfection.

The F430 is the least expensive and most exciting Ferrari. The company's other current offerings — the 575M Maranello, Superamerica and 612 Scaglietti — are substantially more expensive front-engine grand-touring cars. The F430 coupe and Spider are more nimble with the best power-to-weight and horsepower-per-liter ratios of the bunch.