Go and buy your lottery ticket! The F430, Ferrari's answer to the pretenders to the throne of the middleweight supercar champ, the 360M, has been officially unveiled. And it was worth the wait.

Headline figures are as follows: 483bhp at 8500rpm, 343lb.ft at 5250rpm, 196mph and 0-62mph in 4.0 seconds. Awesome! Drive comes from a new Maserati derived 4.3-litre V8 (a unit Ferrari originally designed, now pushing out 112bhp per litre), through an updated version of the F1 'box with a shift time reduced to 150 milliseconds. Now in a 1450kg package the F430 boasts a power to weight ratio of 333bhp per tonne, which should be more than enough to see off the Gallardo and even the mighty 911 Turbo. Deeply impressive.

The new body is an evolution of the 360M with the same heavily ducted front end and more deeply pronounced air scoops on the side. The headlight treatment has been sharpened up and actually improves the looks significantly. An Enzo-style rear end treatment has been integrated and the rear quarter has been elongated to improve aerodynamic performance at speed. This means a longer, shallower rear screen that continues to offer a fabulous view of the engine beneath.

Another carry over form the Enzo is the underbody aerodynamics; a huge rear diffuser is the most obvious visual clue to the venturi trickery and flat bottom beneath the car. On the Enzo, the base of the chassis was almost as fascinating as the body above. The F430 will be on show in Paris in September, and we'll be there to see it, and goes on sale in the spring, expected to cost 5% more than the 360M. What a bargain!

Dave Jenkins - 25 Aug 2004