Rumors and spy pictures have been flying around the internet about Ferrari replacing the F430. Not that anyone can make out any of the pictures that come in, but would Ferrari really replace the great F430? We think that some people might be wrong on this assumption, seeing as how the F430 hasn’t been on the market more then three years.
More likely, these shots show final-development mules for the F430 Challenge Stradale, which has not made an official appearance yet but which many spies managed to catch back in October. As for the mysterious car under the cover, it probably is an undisguised prototype of the Challenge Stradale. If anything about this car is a testbed for the next-generation car, it is possible that what people are seeing is an F430 mule with a prototype powerplant.
The greatest question here is the truth behind rumors that suggest the engine in the eventual F430 replacement will get its zoom from a 9500-to-10,000-rpm V-8 of more than 500 horsepower. The horsepower sounds reasonable, but 10,000 rpm? We don’t think that is likely.