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.

Engine As Art

The engine is the mechanical centerpiece of every Ferrari, and the F430's is on permanent display under a transparent glass hood behind the passenger compartment.

Over the years, many of the most famous Ferrari engines have been V12s, but the F430 features an all-new twin-cam, four-valve aluminum V8 of enormous "specific power" — a figure that denotes how much horsepower per unit of displacement the engine makes.

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The F430's 4.3-liter engine (the origin of the car's name) produces 113 horsepower per liter for a total of 483 hp. Few production engines approach that figure without the aid of a turbocharger or supercharger. The Honda S2000's amazing little 2.2-liter four-cylinder cranks out 109 hp/liter. The quasi-racecar Porsche 911 GT-3 makes 106 hp/liter. A 550-hp Ford GT produces 102 hp/liter and the list tapers from there.

The downside of the F430's high specific power, say Ferraris technicians, is that typically a Ferrari engine of such power density will only run for about 60,000 miles before needing some serious top-end rebuilding (including the valve train and other such components). Considering that most Ferraris are driven an average of a few thousand miles a year, it may take a long time to reach that threshold.

By comparison, a Toyota Camry driven normally over its life will never need such maintenance, while a hard-driven Porsche 911 may go 200,000 miles or more before warranting extensive rebuilding.