What's the news?
It's the fastest open-air Ferrari ever made - and yes, that includes the F50. This is the 488 Spider and it's absolutely sensational.
Exterior
With a spaceframe chassis made of 11 different aluminium alloys - including magnesium - the 488 Spider has exactly the same torsional rigidity and beam stiffness figures as the GTB coupe, and it's 23 per cent stiffer than the old 458 Spider. Like its 458 predecessor, it once again has a folding metal hard-top roof, which can raise or lower in just 14 seconds. Ferrari also says it is structural, to help the handling, as well as saving 25kg over a more conventional soft-top.
And Maranello has also brought its F1 experience to bear on the aero, as this is the slipperiest open-top Fezza yet built. A blown spoiler and aerodynamic underbody incorporating vortex generators allow the 488 Spider to optimise downforce while simultaneously reducing drag. And it's not just for performance that the air-flow works best; the electric glass rear wind deflector has three different positions for top-down motoring, allowing for either the least buffeting of coiffured hair-dos or the maximal screaming soundtrack of that mid-mounted V8.
Interior
Little mention made of the interior here, but we'll tell you that the 488 GTB cabin is carried over wholesale (so that means it's the same excellent cockpit, only with the option of having several miles of open sky above it) and the 488 Spider gets the same driver-selectable, second generation Side Slip Angle Control System (SSC2) as the GTB, apparently allowing for 12 per cent quicker corner exit speeds than on the 458. Which seems an apt time to talk about what's in the middle of the 488 Spider...
Mechanicals
...and it's the same 3.9-litre turbocharged V8 as the GTB, powering the rear wheels through a seven-speed F1 dual-clutch transmission. That means 670hp and 760Nm at 3,000rpm. Good lord. The 1,525kg (weight is balanced roughly 42:57 per cent front-to-rear) 488 Spider can therefore hit 100km/h from a standstill in 3.0 seconds flat, running on to 200km/h in a scarcely credible 8.7 seconds. Ferrari says it has its own distinctive soundtrack compared to the GTB, while 'response times are 9 per cent more rapid than the previous Spider without any compromise whatsoever being made in comfort'.
Do you want to know the economy and emissions data? You do? Oh. Well, despite the fact that forced induction makes this a much cleaner car than the old normally aspirated 458, 11.4 litres/100km and 260g/km CO2 ensure the Ferrari isn't going to win any friends on the VRT front.
And the final stat to fling your way? The 488 Spider has a top speed 'in excess' of 325km/h. Boom!
Anything else?
Getting its world debut at the Frankfurt International Motor Show in September, the car seen in the pics here (from www.ferrari.com) is finished in a new colour, Blu Corsa. We like. We want. Now enjoy this stunning video.
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