360 Challenge vs Challenge Stradale

Not sure about "blow the doors off," but the CS has a huge braking advantage on the track, faster shifting F1, possibly a few more HP at the wheels (not sure), and a few pounds lighter (not positive about this either). For me, it depends on use. For open track days and gentlemen racing (vintage rules as an example) the CS would be my choice. If you are going NASA racing, or are in a group where contact is not uncommon, you might as well run a car half the price that has already been whacked (all 360 Challenge cars have had shunts regardless of the stories you might have been told).

 

What is done to the Challenge cars to make them not street legal?

 

As far as the Fiorano track time is concerned, here's what I've got.

360 GT 1.17.00
360 N-GT (2003) 1.18.90
360 Challenge 1.21.00
360 Challenge (2003) 1.22.40
360 Challenge Stradale 1.28.00
360 Modena 1.31.50

 

I think you're confused. a 360 challenge is a race car. Not street legal. 360 CS is the street going version. With that said, 360 Challenge will definitely be faster on the track than a Challenge Stradale with equal drivers.

 

I agree. You cannot really compare the Challenge vs the 360CS. One is a focused race car the other is a Road car designed to recapture the essence of the race car in a road car. The Modena came first, then they based the Challenge on the Modena (basically stripping it out and fitting racing parts). Then they built a road car version of the racing version, the CS. Confusing, hell yes!

The suspension is actually still quite soft and forgiving in the 360CS, particularly compared to the Challenge which wouldnt work on the road. Dont forget tires make a huge difference too, the challenge cars tend to run racing slicks often so automatically have a big advantage on the track. They also run much LOWER ground clearance and weight less than the 360CS too. I really doubt a Challenge car could actually cut it on the road, it would bottom out everywhere.

Most Challenge cars I have seen also run a large carbon fiber rear wing too which contributes to massive downforce. They junk almost everything out of the interior including air vents, etc and have more weight reduction including things such as CF fuel tanks and fixed bucket seats, etc. Not only that the Challenge car engines are very heavily blue printed to racing standards so I wouldnt be surprised if power was similar to the CS.

The CS looks cool, is rare and ultra desirable. What is impressive is how much better at track duties the CS is compared to the Modena on which it was based, check that out, 3.5 seconds faster around Fiorano than the Modena. Its a perfect balance between road/track, a car you can drive to the track in. The Challenge requires a trailer.

If you plan to use it for track days purely then get by all means consider a Challenge, if you want to use it on the road, no question get a CS.
To be honest if I was going to go after a pure 'track only' car I'd probably not get a Challenge in the first place, I'd opt for something like an insanely quick Aerial atom or something seriously lightweight.

 

The CS is not a race car and doesnt do as well on the track as a challenge car. Most of the differences are in the suspension.

A challenge car is not a bone stock 360 with its guts ripped out. They are heavily modifed at the factory with even more work done by the teams that ran them. This includes spec building the engine, balancing the suspension/shock/springs ect... Somewhere buried in a magazine (Forza?) there is a good article about all the preps Ferrari of Houston did to their 360s.

Ive taken both the 360 Challenge and the CS on the track. Obviously I have had alot more xp in the challenge car. I would also pick the Challenge car hands down over a CS for a track car.

My track times at PIR were 1:05 in a challenge car and then last year when I got my CS to the track all I could manage was 1:16.

 

Thanks for the perspective and data Ron!

 

I've taken both on the track as well and even though the Challenge (race) car is faster the Stradale is still very impressive. I think Ferrari hit the nail on the head with the CS by being able to blend performance and (relative) comfort into a single car that could do duty on the track in the morning and then be driven to dinner that night.

 

Ferrari does not furnish a title, only a bill of sale, so they cannot be registered.

 

When I had my CS, I always felt that the tires were the limiting factor on track.

 

There is alot of work that goes into making a suspension run on the track. In fact...alot of work goes into make a suspension work for for any given track...seeing as how things need to be adjusted to suit every possibility and track.

As far as the CS goes..its a wonderful car and it is the closest street car ive been in that gives that race car "on the track" feel. Some things Ferrari did with the CS went even beyond the Challenge car. Namely the race mirrors, Carbon brakes, aerodynamics and 19" wheels.

I think as history will rememeber, the CS will go down as a gentleman race car for the street reminicient of Ferrari in the 1950s

btw - I had a chance to drive my challenge car on the street during the 2000 FCA national meet (using the FCA temp plates) and it was funny. It can safely be said that I was happy not to repeat that little adventure.

 

Ha ha Ron ... I FULLY understand (and agree) with what you're saying. I slapped a dealer plate on mine and went for a quick spin around the neighborhood. Needless to say ... it was interesting, amusing, and terrible all rolled together and something I won't ever do again. Can you say HARD RATTLEBOX!!

 

Ahhh, thank you! That's what I needed to now.

 

+1. I drove my 430 Challenge once from Central Hong Kong with a view to going to the airport for a spin. I got as far as the bridge and just couldn't wait to get the fricking car back into storage. What a nightmare.

 

360 Challenge times at Zuhai International Circuit in China are down to 1:42 and the best CS time that I am aware of is 1:52 with the car gutted out and on smaller rims to change the gearing for more acceleration. Stock CS best is 1:56

 

IMVHO it is impossible to have a road car that performs well on the track. CS is great fun on the road but pales compared with a challenge on the track. Same for a GT3 RS - big fun on the road but pales compared with a Cup car

 

Compared to pure road cars these track day inspired cars work well enough and people have no problem paying extra for them. The Modena vs 360CS, well it is at least 20% better on the track and thats the whole point. Lets not forget Ferrari engineered the CS with the mindset that the car would only spend 20% of its time on the track vs 80% on the road - i.e. it needed to work far better on the road than it did on the track. Thats a lot of compromises that need to be made.

What I want to know is how did Ferrari ever get to the point where they felt compelled to put a pair of armchairs weighing nearly 180 pounds in a focused aluminium chassis mid-engined Ferrari sports car!

If you want to go further than having some fun on the occassional track day with your road car you buy a challenge car.

Job done.

 

I assume your referring to the standard 360 electric seats.

 

Absolutely, just swapping the 'electric leather lazy boy with integrated fridge and piano' steel re-enforced armchairs from the Modena to lightweight Carbon thrones in the 360CS saved approx 50% of the entire weight loss program of the car! Throw in the another 15 lbs loss from the lighter back box and your at nearly 60% loss with just the seats and sports exhaust alone. Ok all the other weight loss parts (especially the ccm brakes) made a huge difference to the overall feel of the car but franky they could have gone MUCH further with weight reduction.

Really what is shocking to me is that the original Modena weighed so much in the first place!!! What where Ferrari thinking at the time? The 360CS is where the Modena should have started, 20% track biased, 80% road biased. Its not as if the CS is significantly harder riding either, I dont remember my Modena ever feeling much softer than stock CS suspension.

I'd personally like to have seen the CS go further, ditching all the unnecessary stuff like electric heated mirrors and stuff. The heavy engine bracing frame in Carbon, full exhaust in Titanium, etc. A bias of 40% track, 60% road would have been just about perfect for the hardcore model. Lets wait and see how the 430 Scuderia performs in this respect!