430 CS

I want to stir things up a little.

I've sesarched trought the treads and I couldn't find any information on this car.

Why does everyone seem to think that Ferrari will build a 430 CS.

Wasn't the 360 CS built when Ferrari didn't sell all of their 360 Challenge cars. The Challenge cars were then brought back to the factory and retrofitted with road equipment in order to be street legal.

Have we gotten any "solid" information that leads us to believe that the 430 CS will "be" built.

 

If I can recall correctly, the CS was made to homologate the 360GT, not the Challenge. To race the 360GT you have to produce so many cars for the general public, and therefore the CS was born.
The F430 already meets requirements for a GT car as it is based close enough to its GT sibling. Can anyone else confirm that? I'm pretty sure but my memory isn't so good.
I for one don’t think they will make a F430 CS for that reason alone, and also for the fact that you can already get it from the factory with tons of race specs- CF brakes, wheels, even has the CS exhaust. So I don’t think the demand is there. All the better actually, the CS is such a special car I wouldn’t want to see an F430 version of it.
But a CS 599 on the other hand, mmmmm.

 

The 360 CS was built as the end of production special edition car. Just like the 355 had the Fiorano, the 348 had the speciale, the 550 the barchetta, and so on. Most likely there will be another variant for the 430 right before it is replaced but who knows. I do not believe that anyone knows for sure about a 430 CS, but it is most likely doubtful.

 

My "solid" information came when I took a Ferrari Factory Tour earlier this year. I pressed the question until someone gave me an answer. Weather or not it is true..I don't know. But a rep at the factory said yes.

No 360 Challenge cars were ever brought back to the factory and retrofitted to be street legal. When you bought a car new from Ferrari, it was sold with a bill of sale and not a title.

It would be impossible to strip out a Challenge car and add the street legal stuff anyway..just think about the fuel cell and fast filler caps alone.

On a funny note..my 360 Challenge car did come with a key, lockable doors and a warantee card...and you guessed it..a rep called me about the Challenge car and it's warantee. I laughed and told him I would take him up on the warantee. When he realised what kind of car he was calling about..he politely apologized and never called again

 

I think it was an Automobile magazine I was reading featuring the Mercedes Gullwing prototype. In a section about other new cars and ideas, was a small, maybe 3" x 2" picture of the F430C and a small sidenote claiming a due date for the F430CS. Could be magazine speculation, but it was a full-on claim with a due date attatched.

 

Im almost sure it will be produced, there is a yellow one around Maranello testing.

 

I think that was a mule for the Challenge car.

My opinion is that Ferrari will make a special version of the 430 just like the last 3 Mid-engine V8 models. I don't think it will be called the "CS", but probably will be a lighter, more powerful, faster "upgrade" over the stock F430. As for a date, I'd spot it for the last year of F430 production--if the car has a 5-6 year run, look for the advanced version around 2010-'11, give or take.

 

I asked my dealer if he thought there would be a 430 CS and if so, if I could get on the list. He said that he believed that there would be one and that he would probably only get 2-3 cars and there were already 11 names on the list. He did seem pretty sure that there would be one though.

 

The 430 lite is currently being designed and built, expect to see it released at the paris autoshow......what year thats another story.

 

Sounds like there will be one. A friend was chatting with F execs in Monterey and they would not confirm one but the certainly wouldn't deny either. One way to watch for this is to keep an eye on any new copy rights or patents that F may be filing that would indicate the name etc. of a 430 CS version.

 

It seems to me there are two critical issues regarding a possible 430CS, at least as far as North American imports are concerned.

First, would the 430CS be considered a new or additional model? I raise this because I was under the impression that Ferrari is restricted to import only so many 430s into the US market up to 2008 as part of the negotiation over the air bag issue. I recall 2000 cars as being the number from some source that is allowable between 2006-08, but may be wrong. If so, then would a 430CS be perceived as something on top of this number?

Second, my understanding from a friend in Ferrari/Maserati dealership is the air bag issue, and required on/off switch for small passengers would not allow a 430CS in the US with racing seats -- ie, light, carbon fibre seats like the CS. If this is true, then the implications for achieving weight loss through seat design, let alone, desirability of racing seats in a 430CS, might be off--putting.

Admittedly, these 2 issues are specific to North America, implying that Ferrari could just as well produce and sell 430CSs in other countries of the world.

It's all speculation, of course, meanwhile we wait.

 

If the side impact airbags dont get your attention the CF shards surely will!

 

´ferrari does not provide the world with fantastic cars for fun, they do it for profit. That means that if there is a demand for a 430 CS there will be one.

So yes, imo a 430 CS or "random special ed name" will most likely be produced if you use logic.

 

1. The 360 was sold in the US for model years: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and some 2005 cars. That covers a 6 or 7 year model year run. Many of you know how long the 355, 348, 328 etc production runs were, I do not.

2. The 430 came out as a late 2005, then 2006, 2007 and the last cars will be produced by August 2008, i.e, four model year run but only about 40 months of production. I should think the shorten run due to the airbag exemption would put some pressure on Ferrari engineering the get the replacement model ready and they might not have the engineering capacity to make a separate model. The CS brochure indicates rather a lot of engineering to produce the CS.

3. We have been told there can be no sport seats after Sept 2006 (I think that is the date reported).

4. From a business standpoint, the 430 will still be selling strong at the end of the 430 production run, so there is no motivation for Ferrari Spa to undertake the engineering expense to develop a separate model, e.g, another CS.

5. Ferrari Spa has a total of only 2,000 employees.

6. The 430 Challenge has the same horsepower as the street 430. So what would a 430 CS be? Just a lighter car? Could they improve on the tranny and various modes on the steering wheel?

7. If Ferrari does make a 430 CS, it would appear to me it would not be to create sales, but more for the prestige of the brand and bragging rights over other manufactures such as Porsche.

7. But, who ever said the Italians were logical about their cars, so who knows, maybe we'll see a 430 CS.