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.

Born On The Race Track

The F430 coupe and Spider lean heavily on Ferrari's Formula One racing technology. The most obvious attribute is the paddle-shifter sequential manual transmission. SMTs are becoming familiar enough even in moderately priced Audis and BMWs that soon explanations of how they function will no longer be necessary. Until that time, it's worth pointing out that, although SMTs have no clutch pedal or conventional shift lever, they're unlike automatic transmissions in that they do have a clutch (or two, in some cases) and gear-change mechanism operated electrohydraulically via small paddles.

Ferrari introduced the first production paddle-shifted SMT in the 1997 F355 F1, two generations before the current F430. It was clunky and barely ready for prime time.

This steering-wheel mounted toggle switch adjusts suspension settings. + enlarge image  |  view gallery >

The subsequent SMT in the 360 Modena, which sits on Ferrari's timeline between the F355 and current F430, wasn't much of an improvement. An early 360 I drove during practice for a Ferrari Challenge race shifted hesitantly or, in the "sport" setting, too jarringly. But this technology is evolving rapidly and now each new SMT-equipped car, whatever the manufacturer, seems exponentially better than the previous one.

The F430's electronic differential and steering-wheel selector switch are also pulled from Ferrari F1 race cars. The latter allows drivers to instantly change suspension and drive-train parameters with five settings ranging from "race" to "ice" (though it's hard to imagine an F430 in such a scenario).