This car could only be built by one manufacturer: The simply awesome, heritage-driven, quintessentially Italian racing team and road-car company 'Ferrari'. I defy you to find a manufacturer that is more drenched in nostalgia than the glorious stable of racing horses, La Scuderia Ferrari. The latest offering from the road-car division the 360 Challenge Stradale actually has more in common with the racing side of things, being a mean, track orientated, ferocious supercar. This is a car that has been on a weight-saving diet, giving it the credentials needed to compete with its Teutonic equivalent, the Porsche 911 GT3.

The changes to the car include the extensive use of Carbon-fibre. On the exterior youll find it on the wing-mirrors, the air-vents on the engine cover and the dual-layer floor-pan inspired by Formula One technology. The trained eye will notice a deeper front valance, wider air-intakes and a slightly longer nose the rear sitting a little higher than the front to increase aerodynamic performance seen best from the side profile. The rear elevation reveals that a challenge grill has become standard issue, while a prominent diffuser and airflow ducts have been joined by a more steeply raked lip to the rear spoiler. These additions work in unison to aid airflow and increase down-force at high speed. Furthermore, if youre going the whole hog then you might as well have the full-length Challenge hand-painted stripe that incorporates the colours of the Italian flag enclosed by a white border. It starts at the leading edge of the nose finishing on the engine cover lip. But beware, ticking this box on the option list will cost you a tidy £3,000.

As you dive inside, there is an overwhelming smell of quality and a tangible feeling of exotic opulence. Once slid back into a Recaro sports seat, which grips you like no other providing superb lateral support it feels safe and comfortable. You sit facing the perforated sports leather steering wheel and yellow rev counter flanked by a smaller speedometer, surveying all that you own. First impression over, you notice the swathes of leather joined by alcantara on the dashboard and a small plaque showing Ferraris recent Formula One successes. You now look down to see that Ferrari have gone truly mad in the quest for ultimate weight-loss and have decided to loose all the carpets, leaving a lacquered bare-tub floor. Then, as if to add insult to injury, you discover there is no radio or CD player, there is air-con though without it, youd melt. A prospective owner may go into cardiac arrest at this point, especially as they will have already been told the price: £133,025 a huge £30,000 over an off-the-shelf 360 Modena. But they are missing the key ingredient, the heart and soul of any Ferrari: The Engine.

The engine consists of the recurrent 3.6-litres, mounted in the usual 90-degree V8 format and made out of the familiar aluminium alloy. So just where do the changes occur? Well, powers up for a start, 420 BHP against the standard 360s 400. This gives it a power to weight ratio of 333 BHP/ Tonne. Weight is down from 1,390 KGs to 1,280 KGs: A huge 110-KG loss. Torque remains the same at 275 LB/ft.

Moreover, to make the Stradale even more taught and focused, there have been two vitally important changes. Firstly, the gearbox which is a modified version of the six-speed semi-automatic number first seen on the 355, which moved onto the 360, 575M and finally the Enzo. This incarnation is up-rated to increase reaction time to gear-changes and eradicate jerks. You can now swap cogs in just 150-miliseconds. You sit facing the two steering column mounted paddles, the one on the right you notice has increased significantly in length in contrast to the one on the left. This provides more access to up-shifts after completing an immensely satisfying hairpin bend. As you may have gathered by now, the right paddle shifts the car up a gear and the left one down a gear blipping the throttle for you on the way down. There is an LCD panel to tell you which gear youre in and to select reverse you simply pull both paddles together to select neutral and then press the button marked Reverse on the console.

The second most important change is to the brakes. Ferrari lifted the CCM (Carbon Ceramic Material) discs straight from the Enzo supercar and these measure 380mm front and 350mm rear. This type of material used to be prone to fade after numerous high-speed stops but this is not a problem anymore they also save a massive 20-KGs. In addition to this, they do not need heat in order to work efficiently they work from a cold start on a frosty morning. These discs are placed behind unique 19-Inch Challenge wheels which incorporate the use of titanium wheel bolts, creating a 50 % weight saving on steel counterparts titanium is used extensively for parts of the suspension, damper springs (27 % weight saving) and also the pistons. Clothing these wheels are tyres that provide phenomenal grip and traction. Ferrari have developed a tailor made variant of Pirellis aggressive P-Zero Corsa tyre, which measure 225/35 ZR19 Front and 285/40 ZR19 rear. These contribute hugely to on-track performance as well as real world tractability.

Above 4,500 rpm, a second valve opens in the exhaust a neat trick employed by Ferrari in order to pass drive-by noise testing. This quite simply unleashes demonic noise. The effect is deafening: 110db at 70 MPH. I suppose you could liken it to having a pneumatic drill working happily away just beside your head. Every time the throttle pedal is crushed it attacks all your senses and makes your smile grow a few extra cm. This is backed up by the fact it hits 60 MPH in 4.1 Seconds and then proceeds to march all the way to 192 MPH.

To demonstrate its advantage over a standard 360, you only have to look at the Fiorano test track times: the CS manages to be 3.5 seconds a lap quicker than an off-the-shelf 360 Modena. Thats fast. The driving position is excellent, the seat straight-backed providing a solid grip and the steering wheel acting as an interface makes the whole experience perfect. It brings the driver in, making them part of the composite, part of the machine. A machine which is perfectly honed, wanting you to drive it hard and fast. It seems almost alive, breathing, loving to be pushed and relishing punishment. It thrives on progressive and smooth yet aggressive and eager inputs.

This is a very vital car for Ferrari. After ten years gradually increasing their global appeal and cashing in on merchandising advantages this is a return to the very values which combine to create the mystique of Ferrari. The Challenge Stradale displays with consummate ease the qualities that are required to become the most evocative and spine-tingling performance car of the moment. It is a car so supreme in every way but above all, a car you decide to buy with your heart and not your head something a Ferrari should always induce. This car has an aura which cannot be explained by any mere mortal and impressively, it manages to be an extremely convincing, exciting and very appealing package.

This car has soul, this car has rhythm - Enzo would have been proud.