Photo : Nicolas COUSSEAU - ACO/Nikon

It was the F430 GT that restored the prestige of the Ferrari in endurance racing, while its road version has capitalized on the success of the 360 Modena, with a production of over 17,000 examples.

The F430 was the star of the Paris Motor Show 2004. At first glance, the ducts on both sides of the nose are reminiscent of the 'shark nose' of the Ferrari 156 Maranello F1 car that made Phil Hill World Champion in 1961. The new V8 in the F430, also in mid-rear position, enjoys a substantial increase in displacement (from 3.6 to 4.3 litres) for a power of 390 hp. It was then broken down into F430 Spider Convertible (2005), the 430 Scuderia (510 hp), developed with the help of Michael Schumacher (2007), then Scuderia Spider 16M, a limited edition of 499 examples saluting the 16th manufacturers world title of Ferrari in Formula 1 (2008).

Since its debut in competition in 2006, the F430 GT won two consecutive victories in GT2 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2008 and 2009. This past year, the American team Risi Competizione achieved a unique triple crown: in addition to Le Mans, the F430 GT had success at the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans. The 458 Italia will have its race debut on 19th March at Sebring for the opening of the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, but the career of the F430 GT is not over as it will reappear for an ''indian summer in the gentlemen-drivers category 'LM GTE Am'.

On 17th May 2009, the final example of the F430 was sold at auction to benefit victims of the earthquake in Abruzzo. This car carried the colours of the city of Aquila, that was particularly badly affected by this disaster.

Jean-Philippe Doret

Photo: ZHUHAI (China), November 7, 2010. The team AF Corse Ferrari F430 achieved the first GT Manufacturers' title in the LM GT2 in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup.