A couple of weeks in advance of the 2011Frankfurt Auto Show, Ferrari has taken the wraps off the new 458 Spider, what the Maranello company says is the “the world’s first mid-rear engine berlinetta equipped with a retractable hard top.”
Ferrari says the hardtop is patented, and made entirely of aluminum. Compared to a traditional folding soft top, the design for this new 2013 458 Spider is said to save some 55 lb. while also being engineered to fit nicely into the well ahead of the engine bay without compromising aerodynamics or performance. What’s more, the small amount of space needed for the stored top has enabled the designers to include a generous rear bench for luggage behind the seats.
For the record, the 458’s top goes down in just 14 seconds, and the there’s a large electrically adjustable wind blocker that diffuses cockpit air enough to allow conversation at speeds in excess of 125 mph. And with further regard to airflow, the back of the new 458 Spider has some attractive shapes and buttresses that designed to optimize flow to the engine intakes as well as the clutch and gearbox oil radiators.
As expected, the superb powertrain of the standard Ferrari 458 remains unchanged, highlighted by the screaming naturally aspirated direct-injected 4.5-liter V-8 that sends 570 bhp to the rear wheels via Ferrari’s dual-clutch 7-speed F1 paddle-shift transmission. Also on duty is the E-Diff, which is integrated with the 458 Spider’s F1-Trac traction control and high-performance ABS to give the driver a wide range of control over the car’s superb chassis dynamics.
Of note, Ferrari says the throttle mapping and suspension damping have been calibrated for maximum sportiness with the top down. Although a read between the lines here might make give us cause for concern, our experiences with previous Ferrari Spiders (the 360 and the 430) tells us that the new 458 Spider will not even be remotely close to a boulevardier. Top up or down, the new 458 is said to have identical levels of structural rigidity, but one can only assume it’s not quite up to the anvil-like level of the coupe.
On the scales, the new 458 Spider has a dry weight of 3153 lb., some 110 lb. more than the standard 458. While weight gains are expected for structural reasons, the new 458 Spider is nevertheless still a very fast car, able to hit 100 km/h (62 mph) in a claimed 3.4 seconds and reach a top speed of 198 mph.
Hang on to your hat!
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