Ferrari 430 Scuderia

As A Little Girl, I Remember My Mother Telling Me, ‘Darling, Always Strive For The Best…Never Settle. Second Best Is Never Good Enough’. Thirty Years Later And This Piece Of Advice Has Stuck With Me Ever Since. Unless It’s The Best I’m Not 100% Happy. This Doesn’t Mean Though, That It Has To Be The Most Expensive.

Take the TV I bought recently. Yes it cost a lot but it wasn’t the dearest television in the shop. I’d done my research and my TV of choice was simply the best on the market at that time. And after saving my pennies for 6 months, it’s now installed in pride of place in my living room. You see, I’m just someone who would rather wait or work for the best than settle for a quick fix.

Take this job. I thank god every day that I get to drive more exotica than most people could ever dream of. This year alone I’ve been behind the wheel of a Lamborghinis, a Bentley, a Rolls- Royce, a Porsche and two Ferraris. But no matter how rare, expensive, fast or beautiful they all are it’s the flagship model that I hold out for…the one that really gets my heart racing.

So when it was time for a Ferrari to grace these pages, there was only one I wanted….the 430 Scuderia. I’m sure many of you were expecting me to say an Enzo. And yes, the Enzo is the ultimate Ferrari of the modern day. But it’s old now (it was released in 2004), less than 400 were made and immediately snapped up. There’s the best and then there’s the totally impractical!

And this, the 430 Scuderia and current flagship Ferrari is actually quicker than the 650bhp Enzo. It’s essentially a pared back Ferrari 430. Scuderia means ‘team’ in Italian and for race car fans, the name is synonymous with Scuderia Ferrari, the racing division set up by Enzo Ferrari in 1929.

It’s based on the 430 but in the relentless pursuit of speed, Ferrari changed everything to produce the Scuderia. It’s 20bhp more powerful and 100kgs have been shaved off the weight. Carbon ceramic brakes are standard and it has completely new suspension. Then there’s the gearbox, Ferrari’s fastest ever. It can swap ratios in 60 milliseconds. The result is a supercar that devours 0-60mph in 3.6 seconds and goes on to 2mph shy of 200mph.

Press the throttle and the 1350kgs (pretty much the same as your average family hatchback) is catapulted along the tarmac at a rate you really can’t believe is possible. However, I could go on and on about how quick this beast is but it’s pointless really. Every cliché in the book can’t cover it. In any gear at any speed, and excuse the pointless cliché, it is earth shatteringly fast. You really have to experience it for yourself. What happens when you press the Scuderia’s throttle is reason enough to buy one.

Another reason I don’t want to dwell on the Scuderia’s acceleration is because it’s actually the least impressive thing about the way it drives. How it handles is the really big deal.

It does things so far beyond the realms of a normal road car… even an out-and-out sports car…that it beggars belief. I’ll give you an example. Like the 430, the Scuderia has a manettino controller on the wheel, a five-position switch which offers different suspension settings, as well as altering the traction and stability control systems.

The Scuderia’s however, has been retuned like that in the Ferrari F1 car. On one occasion during my test, I had the switch in RACE (might as well be called Track) mode. I encountered a particularly tight and surprising corner and every fibre in my body wanted to lift but instead I floored the throttle. What happened next was a surge of power to the rear wheels and from the outside, looked as if it was being driven by Schumacher himself. Unlike most electronic aids, there had been no interruption to the power flow and no attempt to slow me down.

Whatever setting you have the manettino in, the car will never cease to thrill you. One word of advice though…do not turn the switch to OFF. There’s no need. Only Michael Schumacher is quicker with it turned off. You will not beat this machine and any regular driver will be quicker and safer with it turned on. Turn it off and you could land yourself in more trouble than you could imagine in less time than you’d ever think possible. By rights then I should be going on to say how hard and intimidating the Scuderia is on anything but the open road. But this isn’t the case. It’s safe to say it’s no Ford Fiesta but it really is astonishingly easy to drive. Yes the suspension is stiff, yes it’s big and very low and car parks, kerbs and speed bumps are a challenge but not impossible. I took my daughter to school in it then went and did the weekly shop. Yes I opted to avoid the multi-storey and opted for an open car park instead but that was more to do with me worrying about the 5k excess and my unfortunate tendency to kerb very expensive wheels. Not that I could live with this car every day. But then the people that buy one don’t have to. The Scuderia will be the 4th or 5th car in a family. Ferrari of course, know this. Which is why the interior is meagre. There’s no carpet and the radio is basic to say the least. Not that you can hear it above the roar of that engine of course.

However, in terms of technology and engineering, Ferrari hasn’t missed a bit and the attention to detail is unbelievable. Take the paint on my test car – an exact replica of an original shade from the 1960’s. Of course, should you wish to add a bit more luxury to your Scuderia, there is an options list. An MP3- compliant connection and sat-nav are on there. As are extra carbonfibre trim, racing seatbelts and a racing steering wheel with a row of LED lights that increase in number with engine revs. My test car had this option and although it costs more than the price of most small hatchbacks, I’d have it.

In fact, I’d have the Scuderia, period. Thanks to my job and the various exotica I get to drive, there aren’t many cars I’d buy with my own money. But the 430 Scuderia is one of them. In my opinion it’s the best at pretty much everything it does. Which means, more importantly, mother would approve.

FERRARI 430 SCUDERIA

Engine: 4308cc

Power: 520bhp@ 8500rpm

Fuel: 15.7mpg (combined)

Acceleration: 0-62mph – 3.6 secs

Top speed: 198mph

Price: £168,962