Dancing with the Donkey
Discussion
It's shiny bright red, the top comes off and it has a snorting 480bhp V8 amidships driving the rear wheels: what is there not to like? 
Once again those nice people at Ecurie25 let me out for the long bank holiday weekend to pop my Ferrari cherry in one of their Ferrari 430 F1 Spiders, 
so I thought I'd share a few impressions.
The cockpit is a very pleasant place to be with comfortable seats, swathes of leather and in this example plenty of tasteful carbon fibre trim. As with other cars from this part of the world, I found that the driving position is tailored around those shorter in leg and longer in arm than I am which meant that I ended up with my head fairly high in order to comfortable twirl the wheel, but there was still sufficient headroom with the roof up even if I did get a little more of a blow dry than others when moving in al fresco mode.
That roof mechanism is a joy to behold when fully automatically raised or lowered: it may not be the fastest in the world, but it is certainly convenient and adds to the theatre of starting or ending any journey. The only real ergonomic problem was in being able to reach the indicator and wiper control stalks behind the gear change paddles: not an issue in most situations, but I found that if I wanted to prepare for an overtake by indicating and downshifting a gear or two, one's fingers need to be in PS2 gaming championship form to be able get everything done in quick time. Clearly I need more practice ... 
The main event though is the engine and the performance it endows the 430 with: the deep gargling at low revs changes to a bellowed roar at about 4,000rpm and then rises to a screaming crescendo that is pure F1 as the 8,500rpm red line is reached.
. This car is 
loud, and certainly not for those who wish to remain anonymous, even when burbling around town. It is also fast. Very fast. Thankfully it has handling to match with plenty of grip available on both dry and damp roads. Then there is the manettino to play with on the steering wheel to change suspension, E-Diff, F1 transmission, traction and stability control settings: thankfully there was no snow or rain to demand the lowest two options (with their default auto transmission mode), but it was possible to notice subtle differences between the 'Sport' and 'Race' settings. I'm not in a position to give a more detailed exposition since it was left firmly in 'Race' whenever there was a vaguely interesting stretch to drive which I can confirm allowed a little more freedom from the tail in power on oversteer.
I have to confess that I wasn't a big fan of the concept of automated manual "flappy paddle" gearboxes (and even less so of full automatics), but this opinion was not formed from experience (having never driven one before) so I was keen to see whether the 430 F1 would change my mind. Sadly it hasn't. Make no mistake the F1 'box is undoubtedly a technological tour de force: it slots cogs rapidly and accurately, but for me it detracts too much from the involvement in driving, and then for good measure throws in a few foibles just to irritate a manual gearbox user. How about having to have your foot on the brake in order to move into first from neutral? Understandable from a safety perspective, but not natural if you are wanting to move away on a flat surface. Then there's the fact that it always defaults to 'Auto' mode ...
More surprising is that the gearbox doesn't seem to do a very good job of matching revs on a downshift, always needing an additional blip from the driver on the throttle to avoid the 500-1000rpm deficit if left up to the 'box. This is fine for adding driver involvement, but curious that Ferrari wouldn't see fit to automatically make it happen correctly. Upshifts though are great fun - a slight lift on the accelerator timed with a flick of the right hand paddle and it is possible to get straight back onto the task of rearranging internal organs.
So, would I have one if I could? I'm undecided at present; to my eyes the looks of the front are unconvincing, and for some reason the front looks a little high (even though it isn't) - perhaps because of the seeming large gap between wheel and arch. The rear is the best aspect in my view, especially given that large diffuser and sight of the powerplant through the glass cover.
I think at the moment a Gallardo would just edge it, although if someone out there is donating a 430 I'll take a manual please.
Once again those nice people at Ecurie25 let me out for the long bank holiday weekend to pop my Ferrari cherry in one of their Ferrari 430 F1 Spiders, so I thought I'd share a few impressions. The cockpit is a very pleasant place to be with comfortable seats, swathes of leather and in this example plenty of tasteful carbon fibre trim. As with other cars from this part of the world, I found that the driving position is tailored around those shorter in leg and longer in arm than I am which meant that I ended up with my head fairly high in order to comfortable twirl the wheel, but there was still sufficient headroom with the roof up even if I did get a little more of a blow dry than others when moving in al fresco mode.
That roof mechanism is a joy to behold when fully automatically raised or lowered: it may not be the fastest in the world, but it is certainly convenient and adds to the theatre of starting or ending any journey. The only real ergonomic problem was in being able to reach the indicator and wiper control stalks behind the gear change paddles: not an issue in most situations, but I found that if I wanted to prepare for an overtake by indicating and downshifting a gear or two, one's fingers need to be in PS2 gaming championship form to be able get everything done in quick time. Clearly I need more practice ... The main event though is the engine and the performance it endows the 430 with: the deep gargling at low revs changes to a bellowed roar at about 4,000rpm and then rises to a screaming crescendo that is pure F1 as the 8,500rpm red line is reached.
. This car is loud, and certainly not for those who wish to remain anonymous, even when burbling around town. It is also fast. Very fast. Thankfully it has handling to match with plenty of grip available on both dry and damp roads. Then there is the manettino to play with on the steering wheel to change suspension, E-Diff, F1 transmission, traction and stability control settings: thankfully there was no snow or rain to demand the lowest two options (with their default auto transmission mode), but it was possible to notice subtle differences between the 'Sport' and 'Race' settings. I'm not in a position to give a more detailed exposition since it was left firmly in 'Race' whenever there was a vaguely interesting stretch to drive which I can confirm allowed a little more freedom from the tail in power on oversteer. I have to confess that I wasn't a big fan of the concept of automated manual "flappy paddle" gearboxes (and even less so of full automatics), but this opinion was not formed from experience (having never driven one before) so I was keen to see whether the 430 F1 would change my mind. Sadly it hasn't. Make no mistake the F1 'box is undoubtedly a technological tour de force: it slots cogs rapidly and accurately, but for me it detracts too much from the involvement in driving, and then for good measure throws in a few foibles just to irritate a manual gearbox user. How about having to have your foot on the brake in order to move into first from neutral? Understandable from a safety perspective, but not natural if you are wanting to move away on a flat surface. Then there's the fact that it always defaults to 'Auto' mode ...
More surprising is that the gearbox doesn't seem to do a very good job of matching revs on a downshift, always needing an additional blip from the driver on the throttle to avoid the 500-1000rpm deficit if left up to the 'box. This is fine for adding driver involvement, but curious that Ferrari wouldn't see fit to automatically make it happen correctly. Upshifts though are great fun - a slight lift on the accelerator timed with a flick of the right hand paddle and it is possible to get straight back onto the task of rearranging internal organs. So, would I have one if I could? I'm undecided at present; to my eyes the looks of the front are unconvincing, and for some reason the front looks a little high (even though it isn't) - perhaps because of the seeming large gap between wheel and arch. The rear is the best aspect in my view, especially given that large diffuser and sight of the powerplant through the glass cover.
I think at the moment a Gallardo would just edge it, although if someone out there is donating a 430 I'll take a manual please. davidbut said:
Hi Jeremy,
Hi David - my 'box was always in 'Auto' mode when the car was started; I needed to press the 'Auto' button on the centre console to put it into manual. jeremyc said:
Then there's the fact that it always defaults to 'Auto' mode ...
What does this mean? Is there some way round this? I didn't have the requisite documentation to enable me to RTFM.
jeremyc said:
davidbut said:
Hi Jeremy,
Hi David - my 'box was always in 'Auto' mode when the car was started; I needed to press the 'Auto' button on the centre console to put it into manual. jeremyc said:
Then there's the fact that it always defaults to 'Auto' mode ...
What does this mean? Is there some way round this? I didn't have the requisite documentation to enable me to RTFM.
Mine always starts in manual mode, perhaps Ecurie have set it up to start in Auto, I havn't seen anything in the manual to do this.
David
davidbut said:
jeremyc said:
davidbut said:
Hi Jeremy,
Hi David - my 'box was always in 'Auto' mode when the car was started; I needed to press the 'Auto' button on the centre console to put it into manual. jeremyc said:
Then there's the fact that it always defaults to 'Auto' mode ...
What does this mean? Is there some way round this? I didn't have the requisite documentation to enable me to RTFM.
You've got me wondering whether my mind is playing tricks on me now! I'll check next time I get the chance. 
jeremyc said:
and then for good measure throws in a few foibles just to irritate a manual gearbox user. How about having to have your foot on the brake in order to move into first from neutral? Understandable from a safety perspective, but not natural if you are wanting to move away on a flat surface.
If you are rolling at any speed, it should allow you to select a gear without having to step on the brake pedal.
jeremyc said:
Then there's the fact that it always defaults to 'Auto' mode ...
Apparently post late 2006 cars are set up to do this (mine doesn't).
jeremyc said:
More surprising is that the gearbox doesn't seem to do a very good job of matching revs on a downshift, always needing an additional blip from the driver on the throttle to avoid the 500-1000rpm deficit if left up to the 'box. This is fine for adding driver involvement, but curious that Ferrari wouldn't see fit to automatically make it happen correctly.
Did you keep your foot down on the accelerator when changing down, or did you back off? I find backing off means the car won't always blip properly, you have too keep your foot planted down, or do it yourself lol. Like you say, odd.
jeremyc said:
Upshifts though are great fun - a slight lift on the accelerator timed with a flick of the right hand paddle and it is possible to get straight back onto the task of rearranging internal organs.
Recently have been upshifting without lifting off the gas, and it still works very well! Placebo I'm sure, but it feels like it shifts faster too.
jeremyc said:
So, would I have one if I could? I'm undecided at present; to my eyes the looks of the front are unconvincing, and for some reason the front looks a little high (even though it isn't) - perhaps because of the seeming large gap between wheel and arch. The rear is the best aspect in my view, especially given that large diffuser and sight of the powerplant through the glass cover.
I think at the moment a Gallardo would just edge it, although if someone out there is donating a 430 I'll take a manual please. It probably is too high at the front, car needs to be lowered otherwise it just looks gawky. Its rear is definitely its best angle! Exhaust note unimpressive, but once you get some revs up, the engine itself does sound meaty.
Jeremy
Not sure if they've changed it again but Auto is default setup for 599 too, however you don;t need ot press hte Auto button, just pull back on the upshift paddle and it'll put it in Manual 1st
I've read that the Spider does have a different Engine Map to the Coupe reducing the downshift blip and taking out some mid range torque, seems they've gone a bit far with the revs drop
Great Write up btw, thanks
Not sure if they've changed it again but Auto is default setup for 599 too, however you don;t need ot press hte Auto button, just pull back on the upshift paddle and it'll put it in Manual 1st
I've read that the Spider does have a different Engine Map to the Coupe reducing the downshift blip and taking out some mid range torque, seems they've gone a bit far with the revs drop
Great Write up btw, thanks
Interesting write up JC, do you think you would gel with the car over a longer period of time?
Like you seem to have, I would have been conscious of trying to master the F1 trans and it's various configurations,,,did you just scratch the surface of the 430...or did you feel it wouldn't be worth persevering with, in comparison to some of the other exotics you have been fortunate enough to experience.
Like you seem to have, I would have been conscious of trying to master the F1 trans and it's various configurations,,,did you just scratch the surface of the 430...or did you feel it wouldn't be worth persevering with, in comparison to some of the other exotics you have been fortunate enough to experience.
F355GTS said:
Not sure if they've changed it again but Auto is default setup for 599 too, however you don;t need ot press hte Auto button, just pull back on the upshift paddle and it'll put it in Manual 1st
Surely that just puts it into first, but in auto mode (effectively selecting 'drive'). clubsport said:
Interesting write up JC, do you think you would gel with the car over a longer period of time?
I'm not sure that I'd gel any more with the car over a longer period - I think I got the hang of it fairly well (although you'd better check with those who has a passenger ride over the Mountain Circuit whether they agree ... ). clubsport said:
Like you seem to have, I would have been conscious of trying to master the F1 trans and it's various configurations,,,did you just scratch the surface of the 430...or did you feel it wouldn't be worth persevering with, in comparison to some of the other exotics you have been fortunate enough to experience.
With a bit more time I might have explored the mentalist 'CST' setting on the manettino, but other than that there wasn't much I missed. Make no mistake this is a great car, and fantastic fun to drive. I'd have a manual though.
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