The Scuderia badge doesn't get plastered into just any other Ferrari. There has to be a reason for doing so and in 2007, the Italian automaker found that reason in the form of the Ferrari F430.

As arguably one of the most popular Ferraris since the turn of the century, the F430 became such a killer supercar that it spawned a variety of versions, including the mighty F430 Scuderia.

This high-powered Ferrari took the form of a high-performance, two-seater berlinetta that epitomized the automaker's unique expertise in Formula 1 that was translated into a road car.

The Ferrari F430 Scuderia was a special series based on the F430 and is aimed specifically at Ferrari's most passionate and sports-driving oriented clients. Thus, the Prancing Horse centered its development on focusing on the car being lightweight, carrying minimum trimmings, and boasting of the kind of technology that was completely innovative of that time.

With all that knowledge and practical know-how in tap, the automaker decided to put all of it in creating the F430 Scuderia, and in so doing, it built one of the most lauded and highly regarded supercars since the calendar turned a century.

Six years after it was first unveiled at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show, the Ferrari F430 Scuderia still holds a special place in all of our hearts.

Click past the jump to read about the Ferrari F430 Scuderia

2008 Ferrari F430 Scuderia

Specifications
  • Segment: Array
  • Engine/Motor: V8
  • Horsepower: 503
  • Torque: 347
Pros
Cons

Exterior

They say that beauty lies in the details and in the case of the F430 Scuderia, it really showed in full bloom for all the world to see.

Most of the exterior looks of the F430 Scuderia wasn't differentiated from the standard F430, which was introduced two years before Ferrari decided that a more powerful - and more exclusive - version should hit the market.

The biggest difference between the two models is that the Scuderia is lighter than the standard F430 by 221 pounds. According to Ferrari, that weight-shaving was accomplished by partaking in a variety of measures, including making good use of carbon fiber components that wasn't included in the standard model.

The slimmer F430 Scuderia sought to trump the standard version in every sense imaginable and it succeeded in doing so by shaving off 0.4 seconds off of the 430's 0-60 time.

More than just dropping the supercar's weight, Ferrari also gave the F430 Scuderia a host of external modifications, all targeted to provide a more efficient aerodynamic characteristic that touched on increasing overall downforce without compensating its drag numbers. A few examples of these modifications include the newly styled rear diffuser that was enhanced by the addition of a nolder to the engine cover and by the large venturis that run from the front wheel houses to the rear bumpers.

Exterior Dimensions

Overall length

177.6 in (4,512 mm)

Overall width

75.7 in (1,923 mm)

Height

47.2 in (1,199 mm)

Wheelbase

102.4 in (2,600 mm)

Front track

65.7 in (1,669 mm)

Rear track

63.6 in (1,616 mm)

Dry Weight

2,775 lb (1,250 kg)

Kerb Weight

2,975 lb(1,350 kg)

Weight Distribution

43% Front, 57% Rear

Boot capacity

8.83 cu ft (250 l)

Fuel tank capacity

25.1 US gal (20.9 UK gal) (95 l)

Carbon-ceramic brakes

Front 15.6 x 1.4 in (398 X 36 mm), Rear 13.7 x 1.3 in (350 X 34 mm)

Tires

Front 235/35 19', Rear 285/35 19''


Interior

Just like the Ferrari F430, the Scuderia model got the treat of having a cabin dressed with premium luxury and race-inspired aggressiveness in mind. A key highlight of the cabin is the "Super Racing" seats that were made purely from carbon fiber.

Leather was also a dominant feature of the F430 Scuderia's cabin and while it may not be that much of a wow-factor in today's times, the prevalent use of these two materials served to show just how seriously the Italian automaker was in turning this high-powered, F1-inspired supercar into a true work of Italian art and engineering.

Performance

When it was first introduced to the public, the Ferrari F430 Scuderia packed a wallop of a punch in the form of a 4.3-liter V-8 engine that produced an impressive 503 horsepower at 8,500 rpm and 347 pound-feet of torque. Those numbers may seem average for today's supercar, but that wasn't the case back then when anything north of 500 horsepower was considered elite.

That much power under its hood allowed the F430 Scuderia to hit 0-62 mph in just 3.6 seconds and 0-124 mph in 11.6 seconds to go with an impressive top speed of 198 mph.

The F430 Scuderia also boasted of numerous F1-inspired technology that'll make your head spin. It had an upgraded F1 automated manual transmission with a revised software to make shifting a lot smoother than the standard F430.

It also had a refined version of what the Italian automaker called the manettino, a rotary dial on the steering wheel that allows the driver to choose a number of configurations to control the the stability- and traction-control systems, gearshift speed, and shock setup.

Engine Specifications

Type

90° V8

Bore and Stroke

3.26 x 3.19 in (92 x 81 mm)

Total displacement

263 cu in 4308 cm3

Compression ratio

11.88:1

Maximum power

503 horsepower at 8,500 rpm

Specific output

118.4 CV/litre

Maximum torque

347 pound-feet at 5,250 rpm

Maximum revs per minute

8,640 rpm (with limiter)

Performance

Acceleration 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h)

3.6 seconds

0-124 mph (0-200 km/h)

11.6 seconds

0 - 1000 m

20.9 seconds

Maximum Speed

198 mph (320 km/h)

Dry weight/Power

5.4 lb/CV (2,45 kg/CV)


Pricing

When it was released, the Ferrari F430 Scuderia fetched a price of $250,000, no small change given the economic climate at that time.

Competition

2006 Lamborghini Gallardo

When you're talking about Ferrari, any conversation invariably leads to Lamborghini. So it's no surprise that when Ferrari introduced the F430 Scuderia, it had only one competing exotic in mind: the Lamborghini Gallardo.

At that time, the Gallardo was also a new model, having only been in the market for a little over a year. Lambo also had a lot of pressure on its plate to introduce a supercar that could live up to the heritage and legacy of its predecessors.

In so many words, it lived up to those expectations because the Gallardo is still alive this year, albeit on its last legs.

The Gallardo was developed with the idea that Lambo could still pack all of the awesomeness from the V-12 heritage of the Countach, Diablo, and Murcielago into a V-10-powered supercar. For its initial offering, the Gallardo actually had the leg up on the standard F430 in terms of power output, out-horsing, so to speak, the Ferrari with a 520-horsepower engine compared to the 483 ponies of the F430.

That's one of the reasons Ferrari developed the Scuderia model, enabling it to compete with the Lamborghini on a playing field that it could actually win. The F430 Scuderia's 503 horsepower total still didn't match up with the Gallardo, but thanks to all those weight savings attributed to the prevalent use of carbon fiber, Ferrari was able to not only keep pace with the Gallardo's 192-mph top speed, but exceed it ever so convincingly.

Conclusion

It can be said that the Ferrari F430 Scuderia was the child of the Italian automaker's Formula One pedigree. In the limited time that it was around, it not only showed the auto world Ferrari's capability to improve on an already impressive exotic in the F430 and turn it into an even more powerful version.

That's one of the lasting legacies of the F430 Scuderia. When it was at its peak, it was one of the most beloved Ferraris of its time and to this day, when you see an F430 on the streets, the first instinct is to walk around it and look for that "Scuderia" badge.

Loved then, revered now. That's the Ferrari F430 Scuderia.

Category

Rating

Details

Driving

A

Drove Like A Dream

Performance

A-

Much Faster Than The Standard F430 Yet Still Had To Deal With The Gallardo

Look

A-

Aerodynamically-Tuned To Cater To The Reduced Weight

Value

B-

$250,000 In 2008 Was A LOT OF MONEY

Overall

A-

It's Legacy Will Live On To Succeeding Scuderia-Badged Ferraris