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It was a glitzy, star-studded event. Ferrari Formula One team drivers, Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen, unveiled the stunning new Ferrari F430 Scuderia at the Euro Motors showroom, Bahrain's exclusive importer of Ferrari, on Saturday.
The bright red F430 was driven by Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix winner, Massa, into the showroom where scores of people were waiting in anticipation.
Dozens of lucky fans had autographs signed by the F1 stars, but attention swiftly turned to the beautiful, sleek lines of one the world's most attractive and lusted-after vehicles.
Present at the event were the managing director of Euro Motors, Zayed Al Zayani, general manager Paul Yates and a host of VIP invited guests.
Mr Yates said: "We are proud to have the drivers here and it is a unique way of launching this beautiful new car."
The new Ferrari 430 Scuderia will join the road-going V8 line-up, alongside the F430 coupe and the F430 Spider. This lusted-after car is a truly high-performance two-seater berlinetta which demonstrates how Ferrari's F1-knowhow is carried across to its production cars.
Michael Schumacher spent a lot of time testing the 430 Scuderia when it was being developed, carefully applying the method that made him unique on the racetrack for many years.
All the racing ingredients are there: a light and powerful car, comfortable and ergonomic, ground effect aerodynamics which makes the car more effective at higher speeds, powerful quick-response breaking guaranteed by calipers and carbo-ceramic discs and the manettino mounted on the steering wheel that allows the driver to adjust the car according to the driver's requirements.
The new model is a special series based on the F430 and is aimed specifically at Ferrari's most passionate and sports-driving oriented clients.
The car's development focused on light weight, minimum trimmings and innovative technology. All this embellishes the car's extremely high-performance and its undoubted ability to thrill the driver.
The new model can also count on an extremely low weight-to-power ratio of just 2.45 kg per hp thanks to a low dry weight of just 1,250 kg - 100 kg less than the F430 - and to the naturally-aspired 4308cc V8's 510 hp at 8,500 rpm.
Superb performance both on and off the track is assured by a series of cutting-edge solutions. There is the latest F1 software - Super fast - which reduces gear change times to jus 60 milliseconds, and new traction control which, for the first time, combines the E-Diff electronic differential and the F1-Trac traction and stability control in a single integrated system.
Vehicle dynamics control and performance thus represents the zenith of Ferrari's achievements in terms of developing road-certified sports cars.
