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We used to think the Ferrari F430 was one of the most impressive supercars on the market, but that's only the start. The 430 Scuderia kicked it up a considerable notch. The F430 Pista, as raced in the Ferrari Challenge series, is even tauter, and the F430 GT3 is even sharper than that. At the top of the track-ready 430 line-up sits the F430 GT2, and the first 2008-spec model has just been delivered.

Changes are bound to be minimal on the 2008 version for the simple reason that the 2007 model was an unbridled success. It won the GT2 titles in both the FIA GT series and the American Le Mans Series, all while the F2007 took the Formula One title. Not a bad year, then, for racing Ferraris. But just as the F1 team is already hard at work preparing next year's grand prix car, so has Michelotto prepared an even better version of the F430 GT2 in pursuit of even more trophies in 2008.

Michelotto – which has been responsible for preparing the majority of GT racing Ferraris since the late 70s, and also had a big hand in developing the 288 GTO and F40 supercars – just handed the 2008 F430 GT2 to CR Scuderia, a team that will campaign the car next year in the FIA GT series, for an initial shakedown at the Fiorano test track, and we've got the pictures to prove it. Following the test, the car was loaded onto a truck bound for the Autosport International racing-car show in England when the car will be officially unveiled.

[Source: Italiaspeed]

Gallery: 2008 Ferrari F430 GT2

The Ferrari F40 is a legend among supercars – the yardstick against which all other supercars are measured. Imagine then what would happen if you took what was essentially a racing car for the road and re-tuned it for the track. Now open your eyes and gaze upon the Ferrari F40 GTE by Michelotto.

Long before Prodrive ran race-prepped 550 Maranellos in endurance races and Mercedes co-opted AMG as their in-house performance division, Michelotto was the tuning house to which Ferrari looked to prepare its road cars for competition. Michelotto, then, was (and remains) far more than an ordinary aftermarket tuner – they are the go-fast consultants for the fastest in the business. To help develop their first supercar, the 288 GTO, Ferrari turned to Michelotto, who in turn prepared the ultra-rare 288 GTO Evoluzione, the F40's precursor. Ferrari called on Michelotto again to help develop the F40 a few years later. Who better, then, to prep the supercar for the track than its creators? The resulting GTE (along with the F40 GT and LM variants) was to the F40 what the FXX and the Maserati MC12 are to the Enzo: the pinnacle of performance, pumped up with steroids.

This example from Germany failed to sell on eBay Motors with a buy-it-now price of $658,300, and didn't meet the reserve price after getting a top bid of $325,300. While the buy-it-now price seems a tad steep, the top bid comes up a little short for the $400,000 minimum these cars usually fetch, depending on their racing history.

More pics after the jump!