Ferrari showed off two extremes at the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show, one stripped down racer and one luxury cruiser. The Ferrari 430 Scuderia ups the ante on the already stellar F430 model's performance, while the 612 Sessanta commemorates Ferrari's 60th anniversary with a limited edition 612 model.
The 430 Scuderia is based on the F430 model, but gets tuned and upgraded for the track. Beyond using carbon fiber components to lighten its load by 220 pounds, it gets new drivetrain components.
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Forget niceties like an audio system, navigation, or air conditioning. All of that has been stripped out to keep the weight down. The 430 Scuderia gets racing seats and a new version of Ferrari's F1 transmission that makes its shifts in 60 milliseconds, faster than the 100 milliseconds of Ferrari's other production cars.
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Ferrari used carbon fiber wherever it could, even on the intake covers. The 430 Scuderia uses the same 4.3-liter V-8 engine as the F430, but the Scuderia's superior tuning and lower weight let it equal the legendary Enzo's lap times around Ferrari's test track.
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If you like a little comfort, the 612 Sessanta might be more your style. Sessanta means 60 in Italian, signifying Ferrari's 60th anniversary. The 612 Sessanta is a modified 612 Scaglietti, Ferrari's luxury/performance coupe. It has Sessanta badging all the way around and this unique two-tone paint job.
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Although the 612 Sessanta has luxury appointments, such as the leather-lined cabin, it still has Ferrari's performance characteristics. It has the F1 transmission, which lets you change gears with just a tug of the paddle shifters, and a big, 6-liter 12 cylinder engine.
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One of the unique cabin tech features of the 612 Sessanta is the Bose navigation system. It is hard drive-based, and has a built-in music server, but its most interesting feature is the interface. Its buttons and dials are simplified, and reminiscent of old car radios. But its navigation and advanced audio functions are all easily controllable. The system also uses a proximity sensor to activate a menu screen when you move your hand to the dial.
