Ferrari F430 Coupé (05-10) - Review

Review by Simon Harris on
Last Updated: 27 October 2008
The F430 is the successor to the first of the modern aluminium-bodied Ferraris, the 360M, and the cheapest Ferrari available - although we'd hesitate to call any £140,000 car affordable. A traditional mid-engined two-seat supercar, it employs technology honed in F1 racing to make it one of the most exciting road cars on sale. While similar in proportion to the 360M, the F430 is more angular, the rear end styling borrowed from the Enzo supercar while the distinctive twin nostril treatment at the front is inspired by Ferrari’s 1960s Grand Prix racers. Fighting it for space in the premiership footballer's garage are cars such as the Lamborghini Gallardo and now discontinued Ford GT. The first of the F430s to appear was the coupé, which was launched in 2004. A convertible F430 Spider arrived the following year and the even more performance oriented Scuderia in 2007.
4.5 out of 5

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1.5 out of 5

Running costs

Any way you look at it, running an F430 is going to cost a fortune. Group 20 insurance, single-digit fuel economy if you drive it hard and serious maintenance costs will see to that. Depreciation is slow but only for low mileage cars: enjoy it too much and you can expect to be crippled both when the time comes to sell and at service time too. The F430 needs a minor service every 6250 miles and another at 12500. But there is a network of established independent specialists that offer lower labour rates to ease the pain.

Summary Running Costs

Servicing period

Minor service 6250 miles, major service 12,500.

Warranty

Four years/unlimited mileage.

Road tax (12 months)

£475.00 - £475.00

Vehicle excise duty (VED) varies according to the CO2 emissions and the fuel type of the vehicle. For cars registered after March 1st 2001 VED or road tax is based on the car's CO2 emissions. For cars registered before March 1st 2001 it is based on engine size.

Full running costs data

0.5 out of 5

Green credentials

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    420

CO2 emission figure (g/km)

Fuel economy rating

The arrows indicate the best and worst CO2 bands for this model.

Emissions summary

The F430 is a high-emission car, although it's to be expected when delivering this kind of performance. With an average of 420g/km CO2 across the line-up, its emissions are extremely high, and the range is very thirsty, averaging 15mpg.

Find the exact engine and CO2