Big money for a 2005 Ferrari, but as Richard Gunn notes, it does seem as good as new. Can it re-ally 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. Perfor-mance 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 lim-ited 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 in-takes still have their black finish with no corrosion breaking through. Panel gaps are tight and con-sistent, 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.
This Ferrari F430 is one of four classic cars for sale tested in the latest issue.
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