Ferrari has taken the wraps off its F8 Spider, which is essentially a F8 Tributo with its roof chopped off, a day before the Frankfurt motor show. The F8 Spider gets the same engine and output as it’s sibling, the retractable hard top is what sets it apart from the coupe. Launched as a replacement to the 488 Spider, the F8 Spider is lighter as well as more powerful and gets an ungraded suite of electronics as well.
The award winning 3.9-litre twin-turbocharged V8 makes 770Nm of torque and 710 horses now screaming right behind your ears, with no roof drowning it out. It does the 0-100 sprint in just 2.9 seconds and achieves a top speed of 337kmph. It has 50 horses more compared to its predecessor the 488 Spider thanks to a new intake line derived straight from their 488 challenge race car. Inconel exhaust manifolds adapted from the challenge car have reduced 9.7kg from the engine weight. It’s 70kg heavier than the Tributo, but 20 kgs lighter than the car it replaces, the 488 Spider.
Ferrari’s goal with the F8 is to make the performance of the car accessible to drivers of all skill levels, it has electronic black magic like the ‘Side Slip Control system’, which improves drivers’ control on the limit coupled with the Ferrari Dynamic Enhancer system which individually and imperceptibly brakes the front and rear wheels during a slide to make sure you’re always facing the right way up.
The F8 Spider’s aero is derived from the GT and Challenge racecars – it has rearward-angled front radiators which are beneficial for cooling. However, this also shrinks the underbody surface area that can be used to generate downforce. Ferrari has reworked the channels that disappates this hot air, to allow for maximum downforce without increasing drag. It also carries over the ‘S duct’ from the F8 Tributo, overall aerodynamic efficiency is up 10 percent over the 488 Spider. The retractable hard top takes 14 seconds to deploy or retract and can be done at speeds up to 45 kmph. It is a metal roof so it ensures solid insulation from the forces of nature if needed.
The exterior of the F8 Spider remains largely unchanged as compared to the F8 Tributo with the obvious change being the retractable metal roof and the signature rear haunches behind the headrests which look fantastic. The F8 looks beautiful in Spider guise adding just the right amount of drama that a Ferrari needs.
The car shares its interior with the F8 Tributo, it is very driver focused providing most controls on the F1-inspired steering wheel, the F8 also gets a smaller wheel making it easier to turn when driving fast. The driver gets two customisable screens on either side of the analogue rev counter, the optional 7-inch passenger display is integrated in the dash in front of the passenger and shows various info like speed, revs, and drive mode.
The F8 Spider competes with the likes of the Mclaren 720S Spider and has nearly identical power and performance figures to the Mclaren. Pricing has not been revealed yet but expect it to be priced slightly higher than the F8 Tributo.