2008 Ferrari F430 GTC #78
Pilots: T. Biagi, T. Vilander, G. Montanari
Team: AF Corse
Race: DNF (GT2 class) at Le Mans in 2008
Red Line - RL167 (resin)
Published 09/18/26
Born in 1966, in Piacenza, Italy, Amato Ferrari raced in the British Touring Car Championship until 1994. In 1996 he founded his own racing team, AF Corse, based at his home town Piacenza. The team started out in the Italian Superturismo Championship, racing until the series’ demise in 1999. Ferrari then switched to sports cars racing, and one year later they received an offer from Maserati. The Italian brand contracted AF Corse to be responsible for the development, maintenance, and transport of the Trofeo Cup. The Trofeo Cup was a one-make series based on the Maserati Coupé, and AF Corse was responsible until 2005. However, in 2004 Maserati offered AF Corse to run their new MC12 in the international FIA GT Championship. They raced the MC12 in the 2004 and 2005 seasons, when they finished their partnership with Maserati.
In 2006 they came back to FIA GT, but this time partnered with Ferrari. To compete in the FIA’s GT2 class, they would use Ferrari’s latest track tool, the F430 GTC. In 2006 Ferrari replaced the 360 GTC with the F430 GTC. The new GTC was Ferrari’s professional track tool, tailor-made for FIA’s GT2 class. Manufactured by Michelotto, with direct input from Ferrari’s Ferrari Corse Clienti department, in Padova, Italy. The GTC was the F430’s pro-racing version, with the same chassis and engine as the street version. The engine, though the same 32-valves V8, produces less power than the passenger car. To comply with GT2 rules, the GTC engine (3998 cm³) is smaller than the unit on the passenger car (4306 cm³). Even so, with improvements everywhere else, it’s the fastest car.
AF Corse bought chassis #2464b directly from Michelotto in 2007, and right away put it to race. The car participated in a lot of races in Europe and even in China. The team did quite well, and by the end of the season the car finished second in the FIA GT2 Championship. Moreover, with another F430 GTC, AF Corse managed a fourth place in GT2 at Le Mans that year. In 2008 the team was back to La Sarthe, but this time with chassis #2464b. AF Corse’s F430 GTC #78 didn’t start out very well (52nd on the grid), and unfortunately their luck didn’t improve. On the 111th lap a broken drive shaft forced the car to abandon the race.
This F430 GTC is my second model of the car; my first is Hot Wheel’s most excellent 2006 #87. As I wrote in my review of that model, I was more than satisfied by Hot Wheel’s efforts. And truth be told, I’m not a fan boy of the F430. BUT I don’t have any model from Red Line, and I found this one for a sub-Spark price 😲. And with that I had a perfect opportunity to add a Red Line to the W-143 garage. Sooooo, is a Red Line worth it? 🤔
No, it isn’t worth it. At least not at a regular retail price. The model is made by Minimax, or in other words, it’s made in the same factory as a regular Spark. It has the same detail level, what makes it more expensive is the licensing. The exact same thing happens with Looksmart – a Spark-good model but more expensive. And that’s one of the reasons why I have a grudge against Ferrari the brand 🤐. Nonetheless, if you want a good 1:43 model of a Ferrari, Looksmart, Red Line, BBR or Tecnomodel are your only options. Of those, Looksmart and Red Line offer the same detail level (after all, both are Minimax brands), while BBR is slightly inferior. The true winner would be Tecnomodel, that has THE best detail level of all and is the least expensive.