By: Jason Woosey
Sure, Ferrari's Spider models do offer something of a violent open-air sensation, but we'd like to assume that its buyers are really in it to hear the orgasmic bellow of that motor in all its glory.
After all, Ferrari's engineers did kind of go out of their way to fine-tune the soundtrack of the latest V8 creation, right down to the flat-plane design of the crankshaft and installing longer, equal-length piping in the exhaust headers.
In the new 488 Spider, which has just been revealed ahead of its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, Ferrari has also eliminated most of the dynamic drawbacks often associated with open-top cars. In fact, the spaceframe chassis, which is made from 11 different types of aluminium, is said to boast the same torsional rigidity and beam stiffness as its coupé sibling.
The only downside is that it's put on 50kg in the process, with its kerb weight rising to 1525kg, but you'd really have to be a hair-splitter to notice the performance difference that makes.
According to Ferrari's official figures, the 488 Spider equals its tin-top sibling's three-second 0-100km/h sprint and is just 0.4s astray from 0-200, a feat it achieves in 8.7s, and it loses just 5km/h at the top end (325km/h).
Of course, it's heart is the exact same 3902cc turbo-charged V8, that's good for 492kW at a heady 8000rpm and 760Nm at 3000rpm, and linked to a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox.
The lightweight design of the patented retractable hard top does its bit to keep the kerb weight penalty to a minimum, saving 25kg over traditional fabric soft top designs. The top can get out of the way in just 14 seconds at the press of a button and it doesn't take up much space either, resting flush on the engine in two overlapping sections. Keeping the wind under control is an electrically-operated wind stop with three levels of adjustment.
Unfortunately it won't be here in time for summer, with Scuderia South Africa confirming that the 488 Spider should land on our shores by April next year. It'll set you back around R5.5 million, depending, of course, on what the exchange rate is doing around that time.