Could the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale be the best car in the world?

You must have heard the phrase, “this is the best car ever built”, over and over again like a broken record, right? Well things are a little different here, because the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale has many points which helps incline it to be one of the best cars ever produced by man and here is why.

Enzo Ferrari always had a philosophy that he will build the best engine and drivetrain, the rest, like the body, comes complimentary. Here we have a Ferrari 360 but in war torn battle armour. The Stradale as most refer to it as, (Challenge Stradale, meaning Street Challenge) is the lightest modern Ferrari built. Weighing in at 1180kg dry, makes it 110kg lighter than the ordinary 360 Modena.

It doesn’t stop there, Ferrari have increased its power by 25 horses, to 425hp. This dominance comes from a 3.6 litre naturally aspirated V8, which in fact was produced with Ferrari F1 technology, incorporating titanium conrods and suspension. Matched to all of this is a gearbox upgrade that is shared with the 2002 Ferrari Enzo hypercar, which changes gears in a mere 150 milliseconds, compared to the standard 360 Modena which is 250 milliseconds.

If you think that’s all it shared with the mighty Ferrari Enzo, then you’re wrong! It also shares the most magnificent ceramic brakes of its era with the almighty Italian stallion. The Carbon Ceramic Brakes are the exact same as those found on the $3,500,000.00 hypercar, Ferrari Enzo. Ferrari have also increased the downforce by 50% and lowered the overall height by 15mm on the 360 Challenge Stradale.

Through its extensive use of F1 technology and modern materials, Ferrari have also incorporated the use of Carbon Fibre. You will find this light weight, racing material all over the car, something in a way that represents an OCD, one that I am fond of. A little run down, the inner doors are completely made of carbon, the cluster on the dash, the centre console, both seats, the engine bay panels including the air boxes, air outlets and the external mirrors.

Today we have seen people battle it out, many rushing to purchase the Stradale, which is skyrocketing in value. One of the very reasons why, is because they only produced 1200 Challenge Stradale’s for the world, which makes it even rarer than the famous Ferrari F40. If we ask ourselves what makes a car valuable in the future? it is simply answered by rarity and speciality. If the points above don’t convince you that it is special and the numbers say its rare, then what more could one say.

Something to note is that the Stradale is the loudest road going Ferrari ever produced. Due to global sound and emissions restrictions, this unfortunately was the last of the loud Ferrari’s made. Loud isn’t all its good at, the Stradale is also one of the only Ferrari’s to give you the sensation of a raw, mechanically driven car, it does all of this without a manual stick shift. For me, I wouldn’t have it any other way, as the F1 system on the Stradale adds to the overall extraordinary experience that it supplies. The smiles that it produces is worth every penny of its AUD $650,000.00 value that it sits on today. Dare I say this, no other modern supercar feels the same way, nor do they provide the enthusiasm and intoxication that the Stradale leaves you with.

It’s always great to learn more and to see ones face of joy when sitting behind the wheel of one of the most magnificent Ferrari ever built. Now it’s your turn to experience and ride shotgun in the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale by clicking on the window below and watch it in an interactive 360 degree view.

This article is written by Lecha Khouri at Supercar Advocates in Sydney, Australia.