German Car Zone

I wouldn't be surprised if it is AWD, as cars get more powerful, you need the extra traction to make use of the power, case in point, the GTR.

Well Ferrari is strongly considering this to Enzo's successor

Not neccessarily. Porsche has done very well without AWD. Ferrari ans Lambo's have been trashed by Porsche cars with considerably less power.

Don't forget that AWD does affect the way the car steer and also spoils some of the driving pleasure, couple that with dual clutch transmission and you have a car that does a lot of the work for you.

There is nothing bad about a twin turbo V8, the F40 has it, and it didn't affect the car's legendary status.

A couple of things:

1. Porsche is a classic example of employing AWD in a fit-for-purpose engineering and marketing approach. So the last company that we should be lauding for sticking with RWD is Porsche as it actively recognises and markets the benefits of an AWD system.

2. It is a misconception that AWD universally interferes with steering feel. Steering feel is affected by more than just whether you're putting power to the front wheels or not. It's about the application:

a) how much of a percentage of torque are you sending to front wheels (i.e. how much does the front tyre contact patch have to deal with regarding the combined motive and lateral forces)

b) how much weight sits over the front axle, how much servo assistance is applied and what is the layout of the front axle. In the case of the latter, most sports cars with AWD have the engine mounted behind the driver, allowing for equal length driveshafts at the front axle which, in turn, purify steering feel by eliminating torque steer. A car like the R8 sends just 10% of drive to the front wheels - effectively a form of "pre-charging" the front axle to react quicker when drive does need to be sent there.

3. Remember that Ferrari were working on a system that makes use of a totally separate electrically driven front axle that forms the basis for AWD benefits in difficult conditions without the mechanical drivetrain penalties associated with AWD.

I agree,i was just reassuring Luw that his fears might come true with Enzo's successor

Yeah, we read about that like 18 months ago. Ferrari might be domesticating themselves and have begun doing so with the highly civil California. With people driving their 911 and R8 like a daily driver Ferrari want to wash away the "Garage trophy" image their cars have. On the other hand I don't think people will drive their Ferrari's harder until repair and maintenance costs come down. Ferrari's are also incredibly sensitive when it comes to resale value as every buyer want theirs to be a near virgin. Those speculators need to be abolished somehow as they barely drive their newly bought Italian stallion for a mere 12 weeks or so until they decide to flip on it.

Spy Pics:

Love the current F430 but the new one is due, so here is what I think:
1. I think that the boys at Maranello should stay away from turbo/supercharger and continue going naturally aspirated because turbo-lag would affect acceleration at low-revs.
2. Love the fact that they want to make it even lighter, and hoping they put 550bhp or something in the neighborhood.
3. Powertrain: I like that they're considering AWD (if I understood the post properly), but I do hope that they bias the output to the rear-wheels. Better yet, I hope that they develop a system where the driver can select the output bias, that would be an interesting feature if executed properly. Another possibility would be to offer 2 models: AWD (biased) or RWD.\
4. Maybe it's just me, but I thought that the exterior styling of the Scuderia looked better than the "standard" F430. It was more agressive, looked more athletic. I hope they do something to that effect for the next line on the base model.
I look forward to The Stig's burning lab with this car in the future.

About your 1st point. Turbo technology are constantly developing, engineers are working on eliminating turbo lag, things like electric motor assist for the turbo charger and the use of air as the bearings to support the compressor and turbine blades are close to production in the near future. I would love to see Ferrari having a crack at introducing these new technology with a turbocharged engine.