Ferrari reveals new drop-top 488 Spider

Frankfurt Motor Show 2015 saw Ferrari launch the 488 Spider, all new open top V8. This is the highest performance Spider ever built by Ferrari and is powered by the 488 coupés, 3902cc turbo-charged V8 which punches out a maximum of 670bhp with the Variable Torque Management system guaranteeing smooth, progressive torque delivery in the higher gears, up to a maximum of 760Nm at 3,000rpm. This is an astonishing sports car with head numbing acceleration of 0 to 100 km/h in 3 seconds. Even more significantly, a razor-sharp throttle response time of just 0.8 seconds which essentially eliminates the turbo lag, typical of this kind of engine.

The 488 Spider has been built with 11 different, 6000 series aluminium alloys that make it light and at the same time maintain the torsional rigidity and beam stiffness of the chassis. Ferrari says that the chassis performance on this convertible has been improved by 23 per cent over the 458 Spider.

The 488 Spider uses a retractable hard-top that was first seen on the 458 Spider. This can be raised or lowered within 14 seconds even on the move. The car also gets a new SSC2 Side Slip Angle Control system that makes it more forgiving to drive for amateur drivers.

In line with Ferrari tradition and drawing on the harmonics typical of prancing horse cars with this kind of architecture, this 8-cylinder has its own absolutely distinctive soundtrack, thanks to exhaust headers with longer, equal-length piping and the flat plane crankshaft. The sound was crafted to be seductive but never invasive when the top is dropped, with both volume and clarity increasing in signature Ferrari fashion as the engine instantly responds to the accelerator pedal and revs rise, underscoring the car’s performance.

The Ferrari 488, along with all the other models in the Ferrari fleet, will now support Apple CarPlay. This new convertible will be sold in a Blu Corsa color scheme.