The world’s first mid-rear engine “berlinetta” equipped with a retractable hard top is set to debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
The new 458 Spider joins the 458 Italia, widening the range of Ferrari’s mid-rear engined V8s and offering the same uncompromising technological solutions, handling and performance in a refined open-top configuration. It is equipped with a new Ferrari patented, fully retractable hard top.
The Spider is powered by Ferrari’s naturally-aspirated,570 hp 4.5-litre V8 with 540 Nm of torque. The power is transferred to the road by Ferrari’s dual-clutch F1 paddle-shift transmission through the sophisticated E-Diff, itself integrated with the F1-Trac traction control and high-performance ABS for maximum handling dynamics.
Certain features, such as its accelerator pedal mapping and the damping of the multilink suspension, have been calibrated to guarantee maximum sportiness and absolute driving pleasure with the top down, in line with Maranello’s exclusive spider tradition. Even the engine soundtrack has been honed to ensure that the car’s occupants are completely captivated by the drop-top driving experience.
Entirely in aluminium, the hard-top solution adopted for the 458 Spider offers a number of advantages over the traditional folding soft-top, including a reduction of 25 kg in weight and a deployment time of just 14 seconds. Fully integrated into the styling of the car, the hard-top was engineered to fit neatly ahead of the engine bay without compromising aerodynamics or the performance of the car. The small space needed to house the roof enables the designers to include a generous rear bench for luggage behind the seats.
The rear of the car is characterised by innovative forms with the buttresses designed to optimise the flow of air to the engine intakes and the clutch and gearbox oil radiators. For maximum comfort whilst driving top down the 458 Spider features a generously-sized adjustable electric wind stop. The design was perfected to slow and diffuse the air in the cockpit, enabling normal conversation to be held even at speeds over 200 km/h, should you not want to pay attention to the engine sound track.
Further engineering has gone into strengthening to the sill extrusions and the introduction of structural buttresses. The result is a significant increase in structural rigidity both in terms of torsional rigidity and beam stiffness (both up by around 23%) compared to the F430 Spider. Don’t forget to check out the Ferrari press video below!
