The F430 hails the arrival of a whole new generation of Ferrari V8-engined berlinettas. Every inch of the car was inspired by the engineering research carried out at Ferrari's Gestione Sportiva F1 racing division. The result is a highly innovative design characterized by cutting-edge technologies perfected for use on a road-going car.

Two of these innovations are world firsts for production cars; electronic differential (E-Diff) initially developed by Ferrari for its F1 single-seaters and designed to make the most of the engine's torque to optimize traction, and the handily placed steering wheel-mounted commutator switch (better known to the Scuderia's drivers as the manettino) which directly controls the integrated systems governing vehicle dynamics. The F430's light, compact 4,308 cc engine is completely new and gives the car its name. It punches out 490 hp and delivers a specific power output of 114 hp/l and 465 Nm of torque.

Needless to say, performance is outstanding: acceleration from zero to 100 km/h in 4 seconds flat and a maximum speed in excess of 315 km/h.