Ferrari 488 drops its top

Italian manufacturer Ferrari has just revealed an all-new 488 Spider, just a few weeks before it’s due to make its official debut at the Frankfurt Auto Salon. It’s the drop-top version of the recently-revealed 488 GTB, which has the most powerful V8 ever seen in a Ferrari road car.

Like its 488 GTB sister car, with which it shares many design characteristics, the Spider will be powered by a 3.9 litre, twin-turbo V8 good for some 670 horsepower; that’s about 172 hp per litre!

Coupled with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, the 488 Spider should hit the 100 km/h mark from standstill in about 3 seconds, on to a top speed of 325 km/h.

The folding hard-top will fold in two and rest just on top of the V8, though this may hurt the profile just a little. Such is life in coupe-convertible transformations. Once folded, the rear window can act as a windbreaker, but also as a silencer for the engine. You don’t want that in your Ferrari, do you?

In order to further separate the new car from its coupe stablemate, the 488 will be launched in Blu Corsa, as opposed to the Rosso Corsa used for the launch of the 488 GTB.