2005 Ferrari F430 Spider F1
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
England
City:
2005 Ferrari F430 Spider F1 £95,000
Big money for a 2005 Ferrari, but as Richard Gunn notes, it does seem as good as new. Can it really be 17 years old already?
At £95,000 – which there may be leeway on, incidentally – this is strong money for a 2005 Ferrari. But it ticks a lot of the right boxes, being a convertible with F1 paddleshift transmission. Most of all though, it’s been well looked after and, with such a low mileage, is in beautiful order. It’s as superb to drive as it is to look at too. Having done less than 14,000 miles and with a comprehensive specialist service history covering its 17-year life, this F430 still feels like it’s fresh out of the Ferrari showroom. It fires up from cold with no hesitation and idles smoothly. Those used to older Ferraris will know that gear changes are traditionally a bit stiff while the transmission warms up. On this car, the shifting is by F1-style steering wheel paddles; the cog-swapping is seamless throughout the six forward ratios.
Performance and handling are epic, while the brakes are so effective that you barely need to prod them to stop from normal speeds. All-in-all, it’s flawless. You’d expect a few blemishes after 17 years, but we struggled to even find any stone chips. None of the extremities have any scuffing; quite a miracle because all-round visibility is somewhat limited with the hood up. The finish of the Grigio Silverstone grey paint is even throughout, and there are no signs of work having been carried out – not even any touching up. All the meshed air intakes still have their black finish with no corrosion breaking through. Panel gaps are tight and consistent, and the power hood, with swift and silent operation, is free from any issues – although a clean to remove the dusty fold marks would be worthwhile. The tyres are matching Pirelli P-Zero Rossos throughout, with plenty of life left.
It’s all just as good inside as it is elsewhere. Of course, you need to like red, because there’s a lot of it – the leather seats, carpets and door cards – but if you’re considering a Ferrari, a love of bright scarlet is probably a given. There’s some light wear on the driver’s seat bolster but the rest of the hide is excellent. The driver’s carpet also has some minor marking, but it looks like cleaning would sort this out. The leather-finished dashboard is all intact, with no fading or damage to the prominent stitching. All gauges and electronic readouts are functioning. Up front, the boot is very clean and contains the Ferrari battery charger, tool kit and tyre pump.
You don’t need to open the rear cover to view the engine; it’s already on display through the glass panel. Lift that and it’s all extremely clean and tidy, with those Ferrari-badged and branded cam covers dominating everything. The only sign of age and use is the discolouration and a few patches of corrosion on the rear exhaust silencer. Everything looks stock and there are no leaks apparent. This isn’t an engine that encourages you to fiddle, but you can at least check the fluids, all of which are healthy and at the right levels. The last service was at 13,330 miles in May 2021, so this F430 has only driven just over 500 miles since then.
CHOOSE YOUR FERRARI F430
Based on the chassis of the outgoing Ferrari 360 Modena, the new F430 was launched in 2004. Aside from Enzo-inspired styling, it also featured a new engine derived from the Maserati 4.2 V8, a Formula One-inspired steering wheel, and a manual or semiautomatic sequential six-speed gearbox. A Spider soft-top version and F430 Challenge racer was released in 2005. Lightweight Challenge-derived 430 Scuderia road car, with semi-automatic transmission only, was launched in 2007. Initially coupéonly, Ferrari built 499 ‘16M’ Scuderia Spiders to commemorate winning its 16th Formula One World Championship in 2008. The F430 range was replaced by the new 458 in 2009.
2005 Ferrari F430 Spider F1
Price £95,000 Contact Greenside Cars, Holt, Norfolk (01263 713362, greensidecars.com)
Engine 4308cc V8, DOHC per bank, EFi
Power 483bhp @ 8500rpm
Torque 343lb ft @ 5250rpm
Performance 0-60mph 3.6sec.
Top speed 198mph.
Fuel Consumption 11-21mpg
Length 4511mm
Width 1923mm
Don’t expect to find any stone chips – the bodywork is absolutely stunning. 483bhp V8 is as clean and punchy as you’d hope for Interior condition is consistent with the low mileage
Big money for a 2005 Ferrari, but as Richard Gunn notes, it does seem as good as new. Can it really be 17 years old already?
At £95,000 – which there may be leeway on, incidentally – this is strong money for a 2005 Ferrari. But it ticks a lot of the right boxes, being a convertible with F1 paddleshift transmission. Most of all though, it’s been well looked after and, with such a low mileage, is in beautiful order. It’s as superb to drive as it is to look at too. Having done less than 14,000 miles and with a comprehensive specialist service history covering its 17-year life, this F430 still feels like it’s fresh out of the Ferrari showroom. It fires up from cold with no hesitation and idles smoothly. Those used to older Ferraris will know that gear changes are traditionally a bit stiff while the transmission warms up. On this car, the shifting is by F1-style steering wheel paddles; the cog-swapping is seamless throughout the six forward ratios.
Performance and handling are epic, while the brakes are so effective that you barely need to prod them to stop from normal speeds. All-in-all, it’s flawless. You’d expect a few blemishes after 17 years, but we struggled to even find any stone chips. None of the extremities have any scuffing; quite a miracle because all-round visibility is somewhat limited with the hood up. The finish of the Grigio Silverstone grey paint is even throughout, and there are no signs of work having been carried out – not even any touching up. All the meshed air intakes still have their black finish with no corrosion breaking through. Panel gaps are tight and consistent, and the power hood, with swift and silent operation, is free from any issues – although a clean to remove the dusty fold marks would be worthwhile. The tyres are matching Pirelli P-Zero Rossos throughout, with plenty of life left.
It’s all just as good inside as it is elsewhere. Of course, you need to like red, because there’s a lot of it – the leather seats, carpets and door cards – but if you’re considering a Ferrari, a love of bright scarlet is probably a given. There’s some light wear on the driver’s seat bolster but the rest of the hide is excellent. The driver’s carpet also has some minor marking, but it looks like cleaning would sort this out. The leather-finished dashboard is all intact, with no fading or damage to the prominent stitching. All gauges and electronic readouts are functioning. Up front, the boot is very clean and contains the Ferrari battery charger, tool kit and tyre pump.
You don’t need to open the rear cover to view the engine; it’s already on display through the glass panel. Lift that and it’s all extremely clean and tidy, with those Ferrari-badged and branded cam covers dominating everything. The only sign of age and use is the discolouration and a few patches of corrosion on the rear exhaust silencer. Everything looks stock and there are no leaks apparent. This isn’t an engine that encourages you to fiddle, but you can at least check the fluids, all of which are healthy and at the right levels. The last service was at 13,330 miles in May 2021, so this F430 has only driven just over 500 miles since then.
CHOOSE YOUR FERRARI F430
Based on the chassis of the outgoing Ferrari 360 Modena, the new F430 was launched in 2004. Aside from Enzo-inspired styling, it also featured a new engine derived from the Maserati 4.2 V8, a Formula One-inspired steering wheel, and a manual or semiautomatic sequential six-speed gearbox. A Spider soft-top version and F430 Challenge racer was released in 2005. Lightweight Challenge-derived 430 Scuderia road car, with semi-automatic transmission only, was launched in 2007. Initially coupéonly, Ferrari built 499 ‘16M’ Scuderia Spiders to commemorate winning its 16th Formula One World Championship in 2008. The F430 range was replaced by the new 458 in 2009.
2005 Ferrari F430 Spider F1
Price £95,000 Contact Greenside Cars, Holt, Norfolk (01263 713362, greensidecars.com)
Engine 4308cc V8, DOHC per bank, EFi
Power 483bhp @ 8500rpm
Torque 343lb ft @ 5250rpm
Performance 0-60mph 3.6sec.
Top speed 198mph.
Fuel Consumption 11-21mpg
Length 4511mm
Width 1923mm
Don’t expect to find any stone chips – the bodywork is absolutely stunning. 483bhp V8 is as clean and punchy as you’d hope for Interior condition is consistent with the low mileage