Ferrari says its 458 Spider is: “The world’s first mid-rear engine berlinetta equipped with a retractable hard top”. We’ll just go with: one of the most jaw-droppingly gorgeous sports cars ever.
Like the 458 Italia, the Ferrari 458 Spider employs Maranello’s 425kW/540Nm, 4.5-litre V8 engine driving through Ferrari’s dual-clutch transmission with F1-style paddle-shifters and the E-diff with F1-Trac traction control.
For open top motoring, Ferrari has re-done the accelerator pedal mapping and exhaust note for extra audio enjoyment. Revised dampers also reflect the different driving dynamics.
The aluminium hardtop weighs 25kgs, can be deployed in 14 seconds and folds neatly into the engine bay leaving excellent (by Ferrari standards) luggage space. And Ferrari bring Ferrari, the new 458 Spider comes with an electronically operated windstop in the cockpit – because it’s important to maintain your conversations at speeds over 200km/h.
