The new 458 Spider is set to join the 458 Italia, expanding Ferrari’s mid-rear engined V8 range.

The new car boasts a fully retractable hard top, a world first for a sports car with this lay-out. Made entirely in aluminium, the Spider’s roof offers a weight reduction of 25kg in comparison to a normal folding roof and will open or close in 14 seconds. The hard-top has been designed to fit ahead of the engine bay without affecting the 458’s aerodynamics or performance, while the small space needed to house the roof enables the designers to include a rear bench for luggage behind the seats as well as an adjustable electric wind stop.

Like the Italia, the Spider is powered by Ferrari’s naturally-aspirated, direct-injection 4.5 litre V8 with dual-clutch F1 paddle-shift transmission, with a top speed of 198mph and a claimed 0-62mph time of 3.4 seconds.
The engine’s acoustics, accelerator mapping and suspension have all been reworked for the drop top to ensure that, as Ferrari puts it, ‘the car’s occupants are completely captivated by the drop-top driving experience.’

Ferrari believes that new technical solutions adopted for the chassis guarantee identical levels of structural rigidity with the roof up or down, resulting in a car that delivers the responsiveness that has always characterised previous open-top berlinettas.