Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Minneapolis Street Sighting: Ferrari F430






You know, I'm not really a fan of modern Ferraris, so this shoot was more of an exercise in lighting and weather conditions, really. The clouds were perfect for shooting a monotone subject, in this case the F430. While I'm not gonna lie and say the car sucks, it is far from my favorite. But I take what I'm given, so I'm not complaining.

The F430 was introduced in 2005 to replace the sexier (or even more bland depending on color/wheels/options) 360 Modena. The headlights on the F430 look wierd, the wheel spokes are too thin, and the wheels as a whole look cheap. The detailing is lame, and it seems as if Ferrari had the 360's replacement styled in a hurry. But, the sound one of these thing makes is godlike.

As the F1 tranny scoots through the gears, the V8 wails to extremes, producing a sound like no other, often giving car geeks, and onlookers, the chills. The brakes do good wonders when stopping from 65-70 MPH in the rain, too, as I observed by this F430s driver. As evidenced by Jeremy Clarkson's review on various Top Gear episodes, the F430 will bring out the hoon in its driver. Not that it's appropriate for the street, but hey. Plus, you'll good playing Schuey while cutting up traffic.

One can only hope the 458 Italia is as good.