There’s a lot of talk among car bloggers and vloggers (me included) about the concept of “real”, in the sense of for example “which is the last real this-and-that?”. These days it often has to do with partial or full electrification, where the last “real” car is understood as the last version before that happened. You only need to wind the clock back a few years however for the debate to have been between naturally aspirated and supercharged, and before that, analogue and digital. I could go on but I think it’s already clear that this is a discussion that’s been going on maybe not since the car was invented, but definitely for a long time (assisted steering? who needs that? Naa, the predecessor was definitely the last “real” car they offered!).

I believe to know that most of those reading this blog will have lived through at least the three stages described above, meaning mechanical/analogue vs digital, naturally aspirated vs supercharged, and petrol vs hybrid/EV. I also think that many of you have a preference for the first world in those three categories. Which is why this week, I thought we’d talk about the last “real” Ferrari corresponding to the above brief in the sense of it being (mostly) analogue, very much naturally aspirated, and definitely only running on gasoline! It also happens to be one of my all-time favourites from Maranello one of the most beautiful cars they ever built. As if that wasn’t enough, today it’s even a bit forgotten, and hence bit of a bargain: ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Ferrari F430!

It was in 2004 that the F430 was presented to the world as the F360’s successor and sales started the year after. This was important for Ferrari since the competitors in Sant’ Agata had launched the Lambo Gallardo, a much more powerful car than the F360, in 2003. The nervousness only lasted until 2005 though, as the F430 was a true competitor to the Gallardo. Outside the changes compared to the F360 could be considered as a major facelift, but they were changes that took the already beautiful F360 to the next level. And obviously, not only the looks did so, but very much the powertrain as well!

Most noticeable are of course the Enzo rear lights, knowing the Enzo had been introduced two years before and is obviously the main reason the car was often referred to as “baby Enzo”. There’s other details as well though, notably the side mirrors that are held by thin arms such as not to interrupt the air flow to the air intakes on the rear aisles. On the driver side the mirror cap also has the very cool “F430” inscription. Inside the car, the step-up in quality from the F360 is very clear to see. The F430 is still analogue to the extent that it doesn’t have any screens, but a bit depending on the optional extended leather package, the interior feels very high quality. Some people insist on the optional bucket seats but the standard seats not only look better, they also offer enough hold and more comfort and thus fit most people absolutely fine.

If the looks can be considered a facelift rather than a full re-design, there were definitely other quite revulationary news on the mechanical side. The wonderful 4.3 litre V8 was a completely new engine replacing the 3.6 litre one in the F360 that could be traced all the way back to the Dino. Weighing only 4 kgs more than its predecessor but putting out 490 hp that had only around 1300-1400 kgs to carry, not only was its power much higher than the F360 but the torque was also significantly higher at 465 Nm. For about 90% of the 15.000 F430’s built, the engine was associated to an F1 semi-automatic gearbox, with only 10% of cars being manual.

The F430 was the first Ferrari to be equipped with the by now classic “manettino”, located on the steering wheel and allowing you to select the different driving programs. Linked to that, it was also the first Ferrari to have the electronic or e-differential, a limited slip active differential that could vary the torque distribution by taking into account lateral acceleration, steering angle and so on. Brakes came from Brembo and carbon-ceramic breaks were available as an option. All this gave as end result a car that had much better downforce than the F360, better handling, and much more power: a time to 100 km/h under 4 seconds and a top speed of 315 km/h is really all you need still today! When you press the throttle, the exhaust sound is quite simply sublime and of a kind only natural aspiration can produce. Sorry Pavarotti, this is Italian opera at its best!

Initially the F430 was available as a coupé and in 2005 a convertible/Spider was added to the line-up, obviously allowing you to enjoy the action and the sound to the max, but doing so also sacrificing at least a bit of the beautiful lines. In 2007 the F430 Scuderia came out as the racing version and successor to the F360 Challenge Stradale, taking up the competition with notably the 911 GT2 and the Lambo Gallardo Superleggera. The Scuderia weighs 100 kg less and has a few more hp, but only comes with a semi-automatic gearbox – no manual Scuderias were built. The F430 was replaced by the 458 in 2009, the car that took Ferrari into the modern age.

The F430 is thus not only one of Ferrari’s most beautiful creations and a great sports- or even supercar, it’s also the last, naturally aspirated Ferrari. That makes it special but strangely, that doesn’t seem to be fully appreciated by the market yet. For a “regular” F430, meaning a coupé with the F1 semi-automatic gearbox, prices start around EUR 80-90′. The Spider will be slightly more and cars with manual gearboxes will add 40-50%, a premium hardly worth paying. That’s only slightly more than on one hand the predecessor F360, clearly an inferior car, or the Lamborghini Gallardo which, let’s be honest, looks like it was designed by someone who could only draw boxes and has a VW engine. Given that, the standard F430 is clearly the bargain of the lot!

The Scuderia is more than twice as expensive but it’s also quite an extreme car that is really only interesting if you do track days. It does get even better as although boasting supercar performance, the F430 is generally considered quite reasonable to run. We’re obviously not talking a Toyota Prius here, but certainly not Enzo-level either. So in summary, EUR 100′ will easily get you the last real Ferrari without ruining you on the way. In today’s inflationary world, that’s a true bargain for a car that I’m sure we can all agree on is the last real Ferrari!