Completely different cars in emotion, focus and approach. The Modena caters for the luxury segment, full leather, luxury carpets, low road noise and soft supple suspension with a decent slug of power. Its setup quite benign so its easy to drive and gently understeers when approaching the limit to let you know your pushing it a little. Being a Ferrari its still on the edge towards sport but with a strong nod towards luxury and comfort. Think of its as Ferrari's take on the classic Porsche 911 Carrera base model. Pleases most of the people, for most of the time. Flick the button for Sport and it hardens its character somewhat more so its the perfect blend for most customers, can play sport when the mood take hold but can also play comfortable for daily commuting, something the CS isn't really suited towards (it could do it but you'd loose an absolute ton on depreciation and may arrive at the office with bleeding ears ). The CS caters for a more hardcore niche of drivers, while its derived from the Modena its geared towards the driver who enjoy's the driving experience more and isn't so concerned about losing items like leather, a stereo and sound deading in the pursuit of driving pleasure. As a result it has been stripped away of some of the luxuries (not all it still retains air con and a stereo can be optioned back in, the auto button is deleted for example) in order to pair down its weight, most of the sound deading was junked along with an optimisation project to focus it more towards having fun on a track, particularly on the handling and braking. Think of it as the Porsche 911 GT3 RS. Which one is better depends on your perspective. Most enthusiasts love the CS more but its not for everyone (despite what you read on here, we have quite a fan club for CS on Ferrari Chat). It is harsher car, no doubt about it, its a lot louder and more brash with it all from its larger wheels and grippier tires and seats to its racing exhaust and optional tri color stripe. Its a Modena turned up to maximum volume. The CS seems a little like a track refugee and so thus seems a little out of place at a nice sophisticated restuarant or luxury hotel (although you can still play this role, just pushing it a bit on anti-social radar, try to turn the engine of asap when arriving ), the Modena suits this purpose much more, its a lot quiter and in a non red color blends much more into its surroundings (as much as a Ferrari can anyway!). Your not going to get away with blending in with a CS! Overall I personally prefer the more focused car but both are truely exceptional to own and give a great feeling of ownership provided you buy a good example thats been well cared for.
Limited experience here so take this fwiw - I owned an F430 for a year or so and have just bought a CS. In terms of pure performance the F430 is I think just slighter quicker, but there isn't much in it imo, especially for road use.
I mean that the way you can drive the cars on the road (i.e. not at 100%) the performance of both cars feels similar (to me).
I don't mean to make this a bash moment but turn the 430 switch to sport or race, drive it hard and it'll leave any CS gasping for breath...EVO/Auto Sport/etc agrees. Its all in how you drive the car--as with any car. The CS is a great 360. Its beautiful, sounds great, and is destined to remain a "classic" 8 cyl for many years....but, its still a 360 not a 430 and so a model with less hp, less torque, less quick gear changes, less stability and control, and without an electronic diff. These make a difference-- Its similar to how one would describe a 430 to a 458...the 430 may be an excellent, fast/quick, loud and well designed car. It won't hold a candle to the 458 on the road or track.
Sure, just my opinion having driven both (my F430 was never out of race mode and I do drive pretty hard when the time is right). And as I said, 430 is a bit quicker in a straight line, just not sure that 0.3 second faster to 60 is that noticeable on the road. Track laptimes (as irrelevant as they are ) would appear to back me up to some extent though I think.
If your open to other marks, the Gallardo SL has the business interior of the CS with Scuderia performance for the price of a CS. There's a white one for sale that I'd give both nuts for (never want kids and can get T-injections anyway...lol).
The CS is fast in the upper rev range beyond 6,500 rpm, whereas the 430 is fast everywhere as it has more torque due to its bigger engine (I have both). So don't plan on driving a CS in town or you'll be a) wasting your time b) probably get arrested, whereas with a 430 its only b)
Different animals all together. If it's just performance then it would probably have to be the 430. It's newer technology (faster shifting) with more power. It's a faster car in a straight line and in capable hands it would make up any small handling deficiencies against the CS in the canyons with its power.
well the cs is faster on track , pls see fiorano track times http://www.fastestlaps.com/track26.html and, since no one has said it yet, i will... the cs is way cooler than the 430. everything else has been covered and the rest is just opinion.
