I am definitely late in the show, watched today the top gear edition of the 458... was the 430 so bad in comparison ? Jeremy is clearly bullying the older sister, she didn't deserve such shame !
Couple thoughts -Never have your self worth tired up in a' thing'. If someone loves or hates my car... Who cares? -cars improve ever year. The f8 would blow the doors off the 458. Heck, so would a Tesla plaid. Watch the 430 top gear, they thought it was amazing. -numbers aren't everything. My 355 was slow by all modern standards, but I will say it was more fun to drive than my 430 in many situations. Remember the point is enjoyment for most of us. -and lastly the 430 sucks off the line. Ignore the drag race, the 458 was only just a tad over 2 seconds faster around the track? That's not a whole lot -cost it's twice the price -having said that, I love the 458, it would likely be my next car. But I still live my 430 and 355
It was overly dramatized because James May bought an F430 and It was turning into more of an entertainment show for laughs rather than car show at that time. Yes the 458 is better / faster than a 430, and the 430 over the 360, and the 360 over the 355 and the 355 over the 348, and the 348 over the 328..... and so on!
i owned both and i can tell you that as the cars get more technologically advanced the less fun they are to drive. sure they are quicker and easier and more comfortable but then it becomes like playing a video game and those types of reflexes that make you a good driver. just like how manual ferraris now command a premium over the F1 and the dual clutch even though both were considered technological improvements, and the same can be said for naturally aspirated vs turbo/hybrid engines although the premium for NA is not as great there but i bet it will be in the future. the 458 was a tremendous leap from the F430 but you also lost a bit of fun in the process. it was so technologically precise and handled so smoothly that when you discovered a creak or rattle it became an obsession to root it out and remedy it. the F430 imho is one of the last "analog" but daily drivable ferraris. why not 360 or 355 or 328 or 308 with the toggle switches? sure those are all more analog but the performance (and maintenance) from those older ferraris compared to the F430 are too great. the reality is the F430 and 458 are very close in performance but the ride quality is much harsher (analog) in the F430. and that's where the fun factor comes in. the F430 is louder and when going WOT shakes and vibrates and something might fly off the car while the 458 does it faster, smoother, more precise, and yes more boring.
I owned a F430 for two years and put 10k miles on it and moved to a 458 and have put about 15k miles on it. I think the point of the video is that the 458 was a big leap forward (more so than 360 to F430). You notice this when you drive the two. The F430 feels like a prototype. Also 2 seconds around a track is quite a bit faster. That said, I enjoyed the F430 tremendously and its a great car. It does so many things well, the sounds is amazing, you can see the engine in the rear view, and has more performance than 99% of drivers could ever access on public roads.
there's something tremendously satisfying hearing the F1 gear links shifting behind your head in an F430 spider and the obligatory lurch of a high throttle shift. i would assume it is similar to what people say about the clink clink of the gated manual shifters. you don't get that with the 458 dual clutch. a needle tach is beautiful, an all digital display is for the Xbox crowd. same with haptic controls no thank you. while we're at it it's 2024 stop blacking out your rims and just say no to ultrasuede (alcantara for you dilettantes)
No, it was all schtick, mostly to poke fun at James. Clarkson couln't say enough good things about the f430 when it came out. He was in love with it.
