Is there a car manufacturer as loved or respected as much as Ferrari is? Probably not. Ever since they started producing road cars, people around the world instantly fell in love with them. Ferrari has made many great cars over the years, and some of the best, and they just keep getting better. In 2009, Ferrari released the 458 and many were quick to argue that it was one of the greatest Ferrari’s of all-time. It certainly was a spectacular vehicle, but they have now discontinued the 458 in favor of a newer, better car: the 488. Launched just this past February, the 488 seems to be a worth successor of the 458, and is arguably better in every way. Now after much speculation and as rumors have been floating around for some time now, it seems that Ferrari has indeed confirmed the 488 Spider.
How do you make an already incredible vehicle even better? Well chop the roof off of course! Okay, that’s not exactly true, but this new 488 Spider is certainly promising. The 488 has been designed to be better than the 458 in nearly every single way. Ferrari has increased its downforce by 50% compared to the 488, they’ve reduced the drag, they’ve made it lighter, and of course, it’s more powerful that the 488. Now you can enjoy all of the things this vehicle offers with the top down, and that’s definitely the best way to experience a Ferrari.
Minus the convertible aspect of the car, the new 488 Spider is pretty much the same car as the normal 488. But that’s fine, considering how great the 488 already is. Since it’s a supercar and a Ferrari, obviously it has all the amazing specs that you would find in a car of this nature. Carbon-fiber parts, a dual-clutch 7-speed F1 gearbox, carbon-ceramic breaks, an e-diff, active aerodynamics, an advanced computer driving system, and a variable torque management system are all but a few features that this car offers.
And of course, there’s the engine. Like the normal 488, the Spider is rocking a 3.9-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 engine that delivers 660 hp and 760 Nm of torque. Yes, it is quite fast indeed. But the added drop-top system has increased the overall weight of the vehicle by some 110-pounds. Don’t worry though, because Ferrari has worked their magic to ensure the 488 Spider is nearly as quick as the regular 488. The 0 to 60 mph time is left unchanged at 3 seconds flat. However the top speed has gone down from 205 mph to 203 mph, which is certainly nothing to make a big fuss over. It’s honestly really impressive that Ferrari managed to make the 488 Spider perform nearly the same as the regular 488, despite being much heavier. In fact, Ferrari boasts that this is the most aerodynamically efficient convertible that they have ever produced.
Those concerned with aesthetics, like myself, have nothing to fear here. I personally hate the look of soft-top convertibles and have always felt that they detract from a vehicles appearance. You have this beautiful car, and then make the roof out of cloth. Convertibles look fine with the roof down, but I’ve always thought they look silly when the roof is up. But we have nothing to worry about as the 488 Spider has a hard top. So when the roof is up, it looks just as good. And in my opinion, as someone that considered the 458 to be one of the most visually appealing cars ever, I think the 488 looks even better than its older brother. It just seems more refined to me, and obviously Ferrari knows a thing or two about design.
As of right now, that is all we know about the 488 Spider as Ferrari has only just teased the vehicle on their website. It’s expected to make its debut appearance at the Frankfurt Motor Show that will take place in September. The vehicle is also expected to be available for purchase sometime around this coming spring. There’s no word as to how much this car will cost, but obviously it’s going to be expensive. Convertible versions of any car cost more money than their non-convertible counterparts. The normal 488 is priced around $242,000 dollars, so the 488 Spider will definitely be more money than that. Either way, most of us can’t afford it. But hey, we can dream right? For now, we will have to wait until September to find out more about this vehicle.
Photos from Ferrari
