Own/Drive experience F40 vs F430?

Wanted anyone's opinion on driving experience with F40 vs 430. I currently have a 430 spider and although I love it, have always drooled over the F40. Now that prices have become more reasonable, have at least entertained the idea of pursuing one and bailing out of the spider. I wouldn't do any track with it, at least no plans to. I know for weekend drives here in Minnesota the spider is a ton of fun and I'd be giving up the open air, but doubt I'd be disappointed in the F40. If going with a F40, rather than trading in every few years for "the new spider", I would see hanging on the F40 and not making any other big purchases (at least for quite awhile). Has anyone contemplated one vs the other and if so, please share the experience, both owning and driving?

 

Send me your e-mail in a private message to me and I will send you scans of Evo mag's F40 vs F430 comparison test as a attachment.

 

Very different cars.

430 get attention... F40 is an entire different level of attention. You arrive at a ferrari dealer and they come out to see your car. akin to going to dinner with the local weather girl vs heidi klum.

As for the experience... F40 much more raw. Much more race car experience. If you drive a car to experience the car, the F40 can't be beat.

If you want creature comforts... leather... cd player... bluetooth... stick with your 430

IMO the 430 is a premium luxury sports car. Equal parts luxury and sports car

The F40 makes no such compromise. The F40 is visceral.

In my very biased opinion... F40 without a doubt

 

+1. Driving an F40 is always an event and you need to know what you are doing. It is raw, light, has no driver's aids, and close to 500 bhp. Make a mistake it bites. It is not an easy car to drive. The clutch is very heavy, the brakes OK, and the acceleration north of 3000 rpms can slam you back into the seat.

The 430 is docile in comparision.

 

i own an f40 and have had 2 430s. its not even a fair comparison. the 430 is a modern day monster. awsome performance, though i am not an f1 fan, more a lover of 3pedals...that was probably the biggest reason i sold both my 430s (a scud and a 2007 430)....
the 430s ooze technology, fitment, attention to detail on the inside and outside. i personally love the look fo the 360 over the 430, i find the 430 more curvacious and smooth while the 430 is a bit more sharp knifed.

all that aside, there is absolutely no comparison to an f40. the f40 is in another universe in terms of feel, feedback, grin on your face...and money out of your pocket book. the f40 is a driving experience which probably can only be rivaled by slamming away behind a gto, an f50 or a cgt. the thing is alive with energy and passion. its tough to get into , tough to get out of. the toe box is tight. its a bit cramped. the seat fabric is probably ill suited for its application. but man, its a no nonesense get in and grin machine. its awsome.

its also probably 2 1/2 to 3 x the price of a 430. you'd never take a 40 to the deli or the bagel shop or to aunt millies for dinner. the 430 i'd take all those places and then some. one is tough to replace, one is a dime a dozen.
im not knocking the 430 per se, but there is no comparison. the 40 is a raw beast, a throw back to times before all this techno gizmos stuff muted the driving experience.

zero to 60, 1/4 mile, mile the 430 will smoke the 40. but i dont drive that fast anyhow.

if i might suggest another alternative...at probably not 'that' much more than a 40, a 288 give you well just about all the feel and feedback of the f40 but is probably more collectible, more desireable, more approachable and more sexy. ..if thats possible, which in th ecas eof the 288...i think it is.

 

Some time ago I owned an F50. I would take the F430 over it any day. The F50 has more beautiful lines but is not near as fun to drive. The F430 is definitely a lot more practical. I remember thinking about driving the F50 up to whistler (from seattle) and trying to figure out all of the issues I might have. I don't have those thoughts with the 430 - and even though i like three pedals, two pedals with video game flippers is way, way more fun.

EDIT: Parts availability on the F430 is also pretty nice. 6 month "waiting for part to be manufactured" waits suck.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience. I think as more technology develops, the less I feel connected to the car. You mentioned the manual (true manual) of the F40. My current 430 is manual as well. Couldn't give up that driver involvement. I think that's also why I am drawn to the F40 rawness. I doubt I would be trying to push either car to its limits, although the 430 allows me to do this with a much bigger safety net. It just seems no matter which car I've had -355, and now 430, the F40 keeps drawing my attention back. Not as practical as the newer models, but something about it.... Decisions, decisions.

 

If that's the case your 430's must have had secret turbochargers LOL.

Seriously though, a F40 will easily pull a 430. Jas ran his F40 against his Scud and CGT a few times and if I recall the F40 pulled ahead everytime....

 

On Fifth Gear the host said the F430 would beat the F40 to 60...

 

well, thats what makes the world turn; different folks, different strokes. i couldnt stand the f430, cherish the 50. you're reverse!! we'd make good counterparties in a car transaction.

 

Have a look at the Evo article from a few years back - f40 v's 430. Both have just under 500hp but it was titled "some horses kick harder than others". That is the F40 blows the 430 into the weeds. The 430 was concluded as being the easier car to drive but was just another Ferrari - the F40 is an all time great.

 

Performance-wise, the F40 is pretty competitive for a car that's nearly 20 years old.

The F40 is about a 125 MPH 1/4-mile car. That's about the same as the Scud. The CGT and Enzo are 133 MPH cars with 600+ HP.

I raced an F40 in my 993 Ruf Turbo R. The Ruf was a bit faster under 130 MPH (Ruf is 128 MPH in 1/4 mile).

On twisty roads, most modern day cars will be noticeably faster than the F40 simply due to more and better rubber and better suspensions systems. You can see how the F40 does on Ferrari's own track compared to the newer cars.

 

0-60 might be close do to all the traction control BS on the 430. After 60ish it's all F40. I don't go by magazine racing. I go by real world tests....and no 430 can top 200.

 

i dont think i've ever hammered my f40 off the line, or had an occassion to go toe to toe with a 430, im only going off of "feel"and perception. i just think that Scud was a rocket off the line and pulled straight thru no pause, shift speed intensely quick.
i didnt buy the f40 for pure speed off the line, but to put a shi t eating grin on my face every time i turn her over, fast slow or otherwise. i aint a racer, just an enthusiast.

 

The F40 has been known to pull the CGT with ease up top though. Just ask RufMD. He owns and has run both side to side.

Also, when looking at Fiorano lap times you have to remember the track was revised (made quicker) in the mid 90's if I recall. So comparing times from say the late 80's to now wouldn't really be relevant.

 

Keep on with the grins brother! I admire you....

 

You have a link or pdf of that article. Never had a chance to read that. Comparing an icon to the 430 is a little unfair though LOL.

 

I think you have just defined your own desires perfectly, and no other Ferrari Supercar delivers as much on that connected visceral level.

Youll also find that F40 ownership makes quarter-mile, zero-to-sixty and bhp statistics redundant, and best left for statisticians to debate ad nauseum.

True, the F40 is not as practical as the 430, but even the 430 will have its issues. In fact my opinion about which Ferraris have issues is all those badged 'Ferrari'! Having said that, the F40 has commodious luggage space up front, but is very low for most driveways and getting in-and-out is best not performed in a hurry.

The F40 defines the expression Supercar and driven by someone who really can make it do what it can do, is an astonishing machine. The satisfaction to be gained by learning to operate one better each time you take it out cannot be explained. The shove in the back as the car comes on full boost and the boost gauge flickers wildly towards the right-side peg has to be experienced to be believed.

This is the ultimate Jekyll-and-Hyde character car. Utilizing its split personality I have found that I could drive it off the boost in a relaxed manner as I putted around town running a few errands, or drive it aggressively on the boost and then all hell breaks loose!

I am a real believer that post-Enzo the cars do not have the same charisma or emotion for many. Tell the men at the works in Italy that you have an F40 and their eyes glaze over and they utter the car's name, enunciating the syllables with affection as "efforrrrty!" Yes, they remember, it was Enzo's final gift to all of us.

Here is an F40 comparing iteself to a 430, appropriately placed I might add... there really is no question as to which is more special.
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maybe its just me, but there is only so much fast driving i can do anyway. i mean after punching the throttle some dozen times, it gets a bit old. i had a GT2 for a short period; yeah, it was like the Millenium Falcon when Han Solo tells Chewie to punch the warp speed lever.....so much speed it would scare you a bit. but after a while, you realized that something with more energy, more pizzaz , more character like the gt3RS was overall just a more embracing experience.

the f40 has all the speed anyone could possibly want. and you get a great aerobic workout trying to get in and out of the thing without mauling the satin sheer seat apholstery. and if you want to do some weight lifting, just try opening that rear engine bonnet solo.

the F40 is better than a visit to your local health club! 430 cant do that.<G>

 

F40 is geared tall so 0-60 is not that great. Wouldn't suprise me one bit if a F430 is faster. I don't like smoking my clutch.

Surprised by the comment the F430 would be faster in the quarter though, perhaps it is I honestly don't know. But once the turbo's kick in, hold on ...

 

I agree, while a Scuderia would be right with an F40 through the 1/4, any other F430 would not be close.

I took these stats right from the "USA F40" thread. Pretty impressive numbers if you ask me!

0-60 mph, 3.5 seconds (Auto Express)
1/4 mile time, 11.7 seconds (Road & Track)
1/4 mile trap speed, 126.5 mph (Road & Track)
Top speed, 202.5 mph (Quattroroute)

 

Yes, the F40 may have better aerodynamics than the CGT at higher speeds. I've seen (FastestLaps.com) 0-300 km/h (186 mph) in about 31 seconds for the F40 and 34 seconds for the CGT, so the F40 might catch and pass the CGT.

Maybe someone can chime in on which car (CGT, F40, F430) seems more stable at higher speeds?

 

Found the Evo article. Good article actually. Can I post this or will there be copyright issues? Could pm it amoung us ?

 

Have only driven the two Ferraris. The F40 seemed slightly more stable than the F430 but both were quite confidence inspiring.

The car that did not was a 911 (993 TT). It got very squirly north of 150 mph.

 

Ah yes! I've seen that in my 993 TT. The new Ferrari's are much more stable than the 911s, even the 997 series. The CGT is pretty good, but not as arrow-straight as my CS or Enzo.