430 Scuderia Spider 16m Highlights

Michael Schumacher unveiled the car at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

The new Ferrari 430 Scuderia joins the road-going V8 line-up alongside the F430 coupé and the F430 Spider. The 430 Scuderia is a truly high-performance 2-seater berlinetta which demonstrates how Ferrari's Formula 1 know-how is carried across to its production cars.

The new model is a special series based on the F430 and is aimed specifically at Ferrari's most passionate and sports-driving oriented clients. Development focused on light weight, minimum trimmings and innovative technology. All this to exalt the car's extremely high-performance and ability to thrill the driver.

The new car can count on an extremely low weight-to-power ratio of just 2.45 kg per hp thanks to a low dry weight of just 1250 kg - 100 kg less than the F430 - and to the naturally-aspirated 4308cc V8's 510 hp at 8500 rpm.

Superb performance both on and off interiorthe track is assured by a series of cutting-edge solutions. There is the latest software - F1 Superfast - which reduces gearchange times to just 60 milliseconds, and new traction control which, for the first time, combines the E-Diff electronic differential and the F1-Trac traction and stability control in a single integrated system.

Vehicle dynamics, control and performance thus represent the zenith of Ferrari's achievements in terms of developing road-certified sports cars.

The 430 Scuderia was officially unveiled by Michael Schumacher at the IAA Motor Show in Frankfurt in September 2007.

F1 Superfast2 gearbox

F1-SuperFast2 is the latest development in the F1 Gear used on all Ferrari models. Reducing the time needed to change gears, expressed and calculated as an interruption to acceleration (not merely as the time required to select a new gear) is based on the "parallelization" concept of the times necessary for the various operations:
- cutting torque and disengaging the clutch;
- disengaging, selecting and engaging the gear;
- engaging the clutch and returning torque.

These operations are usually performed sequentially. With the F1-SuperFast2, a fully integrated and totally innovative software management system for the engine and gear-shift system allows the gears to be disengaged/engaged at the same time as the clutch is opened and closed. The result is that the 430 Scuderia benefi ts from a further-reduced gear-change time which can be as low as 60 ms.

This fi gure, the shortest in the Ferrari range, guarantees maximum sports-car feel, but without penalising the comfort of the driver or passenger. The 430 Scuderia transmission maintains the rear, longitudinal 6-speed architecture (plus reverse), all equipped with multiconal synchronizers, which assure excellent performance when changing gears. The gears and bevel type fi nal drive have been modifi ed both in speed ratio and geometry in order to optimize the application of the torque delivered by the engine which guarantees faster acceleration.

F1 Superfast2 gearbox

The integrated E-Diff in the gearchange is undoubtedly the most signifi cant feature in making the 430 Scuderia drive like a racing car. This device has been used for many years in Formula 1, where it is also integrated into the vehicle's stability control systems. After the F430, the 430 Scuderia is the fi rst on-the-road car with outstanding performances to have an electronically-controlled differential unit. The torque is intelligently distributed to the wheels via the hydraulic implementation of a stack of clutch discs and their relative reaction discs. This occurs in direct relation to the driving conditions (accelerator pedal, steering angle, change of direction speed, difference in wheel speed), by transferring the power across the axle according to driving conditions to maintain performance, directional stability, active safety and driving pleasure. Fully integrated with the car’s other systems (Engine, F1 Gear Change, CST, ABS, electronic suspension system and F1- Trac), the E-Diff allows the set-up to be varied according to the driver's demands and road conditions and is regulated by the manettino on the steering wheel.

Like the E-Diff, F1-Trac traction control system is directly derived from experience gained with F1 cars. The system also allows a less expert driver to take the vehicle "to its limits" in terms of cornering, safety and stability. Introduced for the fi rst time on road vehicles with the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, it is faster and more precise than a traditional control system and allows constant modulation of the engine torque to ensure that the desired trajectory is maintained. The system is capable of estimating the maximum levels of traction availabile by continually monitoring the relative speed of the wheels and through a self-adapting system function logic. By making a comparison with a model of the vehicle's dynamics, stored in the control system, F1-Trac optimizes the delivery of engine torque to ensure to maximum effectiveness of how the power is transmitted to the wheels.