Stars shine at Ferrari launch

FORMULA One stars Kimi Raikonnen and Felipe Massa added a touch of glamour to the launch of the new Ferrari F430 Scuderia in Bahrain. The drivers helped to pull in a crowd of more than 150 people to the event, in the Euro Motors showroom, Sitra.Car owners and sports car enthusiasts turned up to catch a glimpse of the Italian sports car manufacturer’s latest model, which as driven in to the showroom by Raikonnen, with Massa in the passenger seat.

Both Ferrari drivers then took the time to sign autographs for fans.

Euro Motors managing director Zayed Al Zayani and general manager Paul Yates attended the launch.

The new Ferrari 430 Scuderia joins the Italian sports car manufacturer’s V8 line-up, alongside the F430 coupe and the F430 Spider.

The high-performance two-seater berlinetta aims to demonstrate how Ferrari’s Formula 1 know-how is carried across to its production cars.

The new model is part of a special series based on the F430 and is aimed specifically at Ferrari’s most passionate sports-driving oriented clients.

The development of the 430 Scuderia focused on making it lightweight, with minimum trimmings and innovative technology.

The new car has an extremely low weight-to-power ratio thanks to a low dry weight of just 1250kg-100kg less than the F430.

The 510bhp car is capable of racing from 0-100kmph in just 3.5 seconds and reaching a top speed of 318.7kmph.

It is equipped with the latest F1 software, Super fast, which reduces gear change times to just 60 milliseconds.

The car has also been fitted with a new traction control system that combines the electronic differential and the F1 traction and stability control in a single integrated system for the first time.

Euro Motors is the exclusive importer of Ferrari in Bahrain and officials said the car was ready to order for customers.