The Ferrari 430 Scuderia is set to be the star in Melbourne, a car that is both the fastest ever production Ferrari and the one with lowest ever fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.

Ferrari will display a unique performance car at the 2008 Melbourne International Motor Show (29 February 2008), a car that is both the fastest ever production Ferrari and the one with lowest ever fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions: The Ferrari 430 Scuderia.

“The Ferrari 430 Scuderia is the epitome of everything that makes Ferrari the finest producer of super cars and racing machines,” says Kevin Wall, General Manager for Ferrari in Australia and New Zealand. “It is car that is supremely fast, both in a straight line and around corners, one that has been honed to perfection by a seven time World Champion, this is a given, of course, for a Ferrari. But, at the same time, Ferrari has used its gifted and unique automotive design expertise to make this car also uses less fuel and produces fewer emissions that any other Ferrari. This fusion of performance and environmental performance could only come from Ferrari and provides clear evidence of Ferrari’s plans to cut emissions by 40 per cent without blunting its unique performance credentials.”

Much more than a new version of the Ferrari F430 – already a supercar benchmark in its own right – the V8-engined 430 Scuderia takes all the latest technology from Ferrari’s Formula One and road cars to produce a new model that is much more than just faster. It is as quick around the Ferrari Fiorano test track, a microcosm of all the most difficult and testing Formula One tracks in the world, as the Ferrari Enzo – the V12-powered car that was the epitome of technology transfer from race track to road.

The 430 Scuderia crushes the benchmark 0-100 km/h acceleration test 3.6 seconds, blasts to 200 kmh in 11.6 seconds and dispatches the standing kilometre in 20.9 seconds en route to a top speed in excess of 320 km/h.

But straight-line performance is only part of the Ferrari 430 Scuderia story. Thanks to the latest technology, including sophisticated aerodynamics, F1-SuperFast2 gearbox and E-Diff coupled with the sophisticated F1-Trac traction control system, the 430 Scuderia dispatches corners as well as it eliminates the straights. This combination of brutal performance and exceptional grip has been blended into a new standard for handling by a unique Ferrari test driver – Michael Schumacher. The seven time world champion, the most successful and accomplished Formula One driver of all time, has spent hours on the test track and on normal roads, honing and refining the 430 Scuderia so that it is not only exceptionally fast, it is also highly capable and will enhance every driver’s capabilities so that they fully utilize the 430 Scuderia’s performance without any risk of being caught out by any unwanted or unexpected chassis characteristics.

In short, Schumacher has taken 430 Scuderia beyond every limit in speed, corning loads and speed/load transition to ensure that this new Ferrari can deliver an unparalled driving experience for those lucky enough to own this unique performance car. Of course, Ferrari is the only car maker that can provide its customers with a car personally developed by the world’s greatest Formula One driver.

Just how extraordinary this new Ferrari is, can be seen by four examples of data: Despite the performance leap, the 430 Scuderia has a better Carbon Dioxide figure and a lower official fuel consumption figure than the standard Ferrari 430, exemplifying the skill of Ferrari’s designers and engineers in their ability to produce a car that is quicker AND cleaner. Downforce is 30 kg up on the normal 430, but with NO increase in drag, a testament to the skills of the Ferrari’s engineers in the wind tunnel. At the same time, the Ferrari Enzo matching performance does not come at a Ferrari Enzo price, with the recommended retail price expected to half that of the Enzo.

The anticipation for this new Ferrari in Australia and New Zealand has been intense. From the moment that Luca di Montezemolo, the President of Ferrari, hinted at last year’s Geneva International Motor Show that a new Ferrari would appear before the end of the year, there has been a steady stream of people from Australia and New Zealand wishing to own the 430 Scuderia, to the point where nearly 80 people are already in line to own this, the ultimate Ferrari. However, with deliveries to Australia and New Zealand not due to start until mid-2008 and numbers limited by intense worldwide demand, the Melbourne International Motor Show will be, for the vast majority of people, the only opportunity to see the Ferrari 430 Scuderia.