Ferrari 458 Spider – now it’s official

Ferrari 458 Spider - it's official

We had our doubts when we ran the leaked photos of the new Ferrari 458 Spider at the weekend. We thought they could just be very good Photoshops.

But with the reveal today of the official Ferrari 458 Spider photos we can now safely say they were real, and not just good Photoshops after all. Which means there’s not an awful lot more to show you.

True, we do have an extra couple of photos, but we still don’t get to see any sign of the folding hard top; it seems Ferrari are keen to keep that for Frankfurt.

What we can see is that the folding hard top on the Spider has meant sacrificing the transparent engine cover. Which is a shame, but the roof has to go somewhere.

And it’s a roof which Ferrari say is actually 25kg lighter than a comparable canvas top would be. Which is a bit hard to swallow, but they should know. But the RSJs Ferrari has bolted in to stop the front falling out with the back of the 458 Spider has added 50kg in weight.

That has blunted the 458 Spider’s performance a bit, although only by 0.1 seconds to 62mph (which now takes 3.4 seconds) and by 4mph on the top speed – down to 198mph.

Other changes include the arrival of a cubby-hole where the roof would have stored had Ferrari opted for the traditional canvas folding roof and a newly tuned exhaust to make the thrill of the 458 Spider’s soundtrack even more appealing.

We’ll get more detail as Frankfurt approaches, in particular on that trick folding roof. In terms of price, for now we can only guess.

But just the right side of £200k sounds about right.

Update: We now have video of the 458 Spider’s folding roof in action (below). So we don’t have to wait until Frankfurt to see it’s a single piece flip-over roof. 

(5 photos – click any thumbnail for full gallery)

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* With forged wheels and Racing seats

By Cars UK