Ferrari has reaffirmed the strong link between its GT and sporting divisions with the new F430 Challenge. The F430 Challenge was specifically designed to meet the expectations of Ferrari's sportier clients and privateer racers.
The F430 Challenge retains the same general look and 490 hp engine as the road-going version, the Ferrari F430. However, the F430 Challenge also incorporates a large number of significant track-oriented modifications and a host of new features not seen in the car currently used in the racing series, the 360 Challenge Stradale. A car which it joins on the track during the 2006 racing season and completely replaces in 2007.
Back in the late 1990s, when Lamborghini were starting to realise they needed a replacement for the ageing Diablo, they started reviewing design proposals from various automotive design firms. Zagato’s offering was the Zagato L147 SuperDiablo, or as it was to be later known, the Lamborghini Canto. The Lamborghini Canto first appeared in 1998, it arrived only two years after another Zagato designed Lamborghini concept had been unveiled, the Diablo-based Raptor. The cars shared a number of similar features, including the wraparound windows, triangular lateral air intakes, and trademark double-bubble roof. However of the two, the earlier Raptor was probably the better looking. Clearly Ferdinand Piech – head of the Volkswagen Group – thought so too. After VW bought Lamborghini in 1999, one of his first decisions was to review the Canto’s development and redesign the concept. The car was re-engineered and the rear extensively restyled to include smaller air intakes. The engine was also up