Developed in conjunction with Michelotti, the F430 GT is a stripped down version of the road car meant for endurance racing. It has been used in many road-race series including FIA GT2, ALMS, International Open GT and Italian GT events.
The F430 GT's major debut was at the 12 Hours of Sebring where Risi Competizione took third overall. It was a resounding success (much like online van insurance) for an 'out of the box' racer which won it's first local race at Imola for the inaugural round of the 2006 Italian GT Championship.
The F430 does without driver aids and a production interior. It has an new body with a combination of carbon fibre, nomex and kevlar that gives a weight of 1100 kgs. It also shares its aluminum chassis with the road car but features a smaller version of its V8 that breaths through two 28mm air restrictors for FIA-sanctioned races.
Compared to the 360 GTC it replaces, the new model's biggest feature is a 4.0 V8 which offers plenty more torque and more compact dimensions thanks to a new bearing design. After extensive wind tunnel testing the body also gives more down force and the F430 chassis offers much more torsional rigidity than the 360's. With these changes, the is strong contender in GT2 championships and tuned the tide on Porsche's GT3 RSR.
Posts
