At £70k, This Used Ferrari F430 Is Almost A Bargain

Earlier in the week, we looked at a rather ungainly Ferrari Enzo replica. What made this creation particularly heinous is the fact that it used a perfectly good F430 as a donor car. This is a terrible waste, but the good news is there are loads of untouched examples of these thoroughbreds on the used market at about the price of a base-spec new Porsche 911.

OK, we’re talking about at least £70,000, but that’s not bad considering the car’s modern descendent - the 458 - will set you back a cool £100k more than that. And that’s before you add any of the pricey options.

So, in the case of this £72,950 example we’ve found, what do you get for your cash? Well, this one is apparently “celebrity owned” and has been featured on Top Gear, meaning it could well be James May’s old F430 (see below; the number plate is different, but may have been changed since), but let’s not get too caught up in that.

The F430 may not be the prettiest Ferrari, with some particularly fussy styling at the rear, but all the important bits are underneath. It packs a screaming 4.3-litre V8, which belts out 490bhp at 8500rpm. The power is sent to the rear via a six-speed semi-auto gearbox, a clever electronically-controlled limited-slip differential, and the whole shebang is chock full of tech to make you look like a hero behind the wheel. Or if you’re already a hero, you can turn all of that off and enjoy the 430’s mind-blowing chassis.

The example we found is a 2005 model, and has 26,000 miles on the clock. It’s not red, but this is the less obvious and therefore cooler option. It won’t be cheap to run with pricey servicing, high tax and beefy insurance premiums, although if you’ve got £70k to blow on a car, you probably have the means to keep it going anyway.

We’re struggling to think of a better way to lose a lot of money…