Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to the 2012 Ferrari 458 Italia Spider.
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| 2012 Ferrari 458 Italia Spider |
The car is scheduled to make its public debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month, but the Prancing Horse wanted to release the first salvo of information, together with official photos, well ahead of that. Thank your lucky stars, people.
And now that the Ferrari 458 Italia Spider has officially arrived, the next question that needs to be answered now is when it’s going on sale. Word has it that Europe will get first crack at the Ferrari supercar around spring of 2012 with the US following suit towards the end of 2012.
Exterior and Interior
While most of the car’s appearance looks pretty much the same to that of the hard-top version of the 458 Italia, the biggest difference between the two is pretty obvious: the Spider comes with a retractable roof.
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| 2012 ferrari 458 Italia Spider |
The roof is made from aluminum and was designed to ergonomically fit just in front of the rear engine without compromising both the car’s aerodynamic attributes, as well as the overall performance. With the roof mechanism being as small as it is, the 458 Italia Spider even has room to have a small storage space just behind the two seats of the supercar.
The front of the supercar remains largely untouched, but the rear has been given a few tweaks to work well with the car’s new aerodynamic set-up, specifically in the optimization of air flow towards the cooling ducts, oil cooler, and gearbox. There’s also the addition of an adjustable wind deflector, which has been designed in such a way that the wind doesn’t interfere with the interior cabin of the supercar, making conversations between driver and passenger less of a hassle than it would have been.
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| 2012 Ferrari 458 Italia Spider |
In addition to the exterior engineering of the 458 Italia Spider, Ferrari also adjusted the supercar’s engine mapping and suspension damping, as well as re-tuning the engine sound to ensure optimal performance capabilities without compromising the ride experience of the car.
Overall, the changes done on the whole set-up of the 458 Italia Spider resulted in a heavier car - although not by much - compared to the hard-top 458 Italia. The former weighs in at 3,153 lbs compared to the latter weighing 3,042 lbs.
Performance
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| 2012 Ferrari 458 Italia Spider |
The engine of the Ferrari 458 Italia Spider is still the same 4.5-liter V8 engine from the hard-top version. The resulting output remains at 570 horsepower at 9,000 rpm and 400 lb/ft of torque at 6,000 rpm mated to a seven-speed dual clutch transmission and electronic differential. The supercar is capable of traveling from 0-62 mph in less than 3.4 seconds with a top speed of 198 mph.
The engine also delivers an outstanding power output of 127 HP/liter and 120 Nm/liter and only 307 g/km of CO2 with a fuel consumption of just 13.3 l/100 km.
Pricing
During its official debut in Frankfurt, Ferrari announced prices for the new 458 Spider. In Europe, the drop top will cost € 296,021 (about $408,000 at the current exchange rates). Customers interested can also opt for different packages to boost the car’s appeal: a leather luggage set for the trunk (€ 5.651/$7,900 at the current rates) and a carbon fiber package (€ 11.592/$15,990 at the current rates). The cheapest option is a silver plate priced at € 484 ($667 at the current rates).
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