Singing V8 reaches chorus in Ferrari 488 Spider.

Why settle for the Ferrari 488 GTB when its sexier, versatile and equally potent 488 Spider is now selling fast in South Africa?

Ferrari’s ‘most high performance Spider’ will take dead aim at the Lamborghini Huracan Spyder and McLaren 650S Spider.

Instrumental in its duality the Retractable Hard Top has been carried over from the 458 Spider and has rendered traditional soft-tops obsolete as it is not only lighter (- 25 kg) but also provides better protection from noise and elements even when lowered courtesy of a glass wind-stop adjustable to three different positions. Equally significant is the fact that the RHT can be raised or lowered in 14 seconds even when the car is moving.

This light, high performance spaceframe chassis made of 11 different 6000 series aluminium alloys containing varying percentages of magnesium. Extraordinarily, this yields the same torsional rigidity and beam stiffness figures as the coupé, in which the roof is a structural element, improving the chassis’ performance by 23 per cent over that of the 458 Spider.

The Prancing Horse and is powered by the 488 coupé’s 3902cc turbo-charged V8 which punches out a maximum of 492kW with the Variable Torque Management system guaranteeing smooth, progressive torque delivery in the higher gears up to a maximum of 760 Nm at 3000 rpm. Blistering acceleration sees 0 to 100 km/h in 3 seconds and 0 to 200 km/h in 8.7 seconds. Equal length headers and flat plane crankshaft produce a new seductive Ferrari noise that overcomes typical turbo suffocation.  A far-to-brief rev at the unveiling delivered the right shivers and vibrations.

Scuderia South Africa CEO, Mervyn Eagles added that the 488 Spider has been designed to set new technological benchmarks for the sector. “Following the success of the 488 GTB both locally and internationally, the 488 Spider promises to surpass the expectations of any open-top V8 sport car”