In this post we are talking about Ferrari 458 Spider 2013

Ferrari 458 Spider 2013

In advance of the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show, Ferrari has taken the wraps off the new 458 Spider, what the Maranello company says is the “the world’s first mid-rear engine berlinetta equipped with a retractable hard top.” Ferrari says the hardtop is patented, and made entirely of aluminum. Compared to a traditional folding soft top, the design for this new 2013 458 Spider is said to save some 55 lb. while also being engineered to fit nicely into the well ahead of the engine bay without compromising aerodynamics or performance. What’s more, the small amount of space needed for the stored top has enabled the designers to include a generous rear bench for luggage behind the seats. For the record, the 458’s top goes down in just 14 seconds, and the there’s a large electrically adjustable wind blocker that diffuses cockpit air enough to allow conversation at speeds in excess of 125 mph. And with further regard to airflow, the back of the new 458 Spider has some attractive shapes and buttresses that designed to optimize flow to the engine intakes as well as the clutch and gearbox oil radiators. Read more:Ferrari 458 Spider 2013

In this post we are talking about Ferrari Scuderia Spider 16M 2009

Ferrari Scuderia Spider 16M 2009

The Ferrari Scuderia Spider 16M has been created with the goal of bringing together superb performance and the pleasure of driving in the open air. The result is the best-performing spider ever created by Ferrari, a car which evokes the emotions of the barchetta models that were the protagonists of the great multi-stage races of the 1950s. The car’s technological solutions, make the most of the latest innovations in the 430 Scuderia, derived from Formula 1, to guarantee uncompromising handling on the road. This is reflected in the name, which is also connected to Formula 1: a celebration of the 16 World Constructors’ Titles Ferrari have won. The Scuderia Spider 16M is a marriage of performance and driving pleasure produced in a special, limited edition for only 499 passionate customers. The Ferrari Scuderia Spider 16M offers technological solutions that have already been tested on the 430 Scuderia. It’s an ultra-high-performance car (0-100 km/h in 3.7 seconds) designed for fast, tight driving conditions with a set-up that highlights sports driving and that offers all the enjoyment of open-top driving in the F430 Spider. In tests at the Fiorano circuit the car recorded lap times lower than any other Ferrari spider model designed for the road. Read more: Ferrari Scuderia Spider 16M 2009

In this post we are talking about Ferrari F430 Spider 2005

Ferrari F430 Spider 2005

Ferrari’s range of V8-engined sports cars will be joined by the new F430 Spider when it is unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show (3-13 March 2005). Ferrari’s new drop-top includes a number of important technical features which give hints of the car’s F1 pedigree, starting with the innovative electronic differential (E-diff) – first developed by the racing division for the Scuderia’s all-conquering F1 cars – which improves traction and roadholding under all conditions. The Spider also features the steering wheel-mounted rotary switch, known to the Scuderia’s drivers as the ‘manettino’, which allows the car’s set-up to be adjusted easily and quickly. Formula 1 is again the inspiration for the development of the company’s road cars. Designed by Pininfarina, the F430 Spider’s sinuous lines, in fact, were fine-tuned using state-of-the-art computer aerodynamics simulation programmes usually employed exclusively by the F1 team. Read more: Ferrari F430 Spider 2005

In this post we are talking about Ferrari 575M Superamerica 2005

Ferrari 575M Superamerica 2005

Ferrari 575M Superamerica combines Ferrari 12-cylinder berlinetta performance with a highly original, innovative take on the convertible concept. The Ferrari 575M Superamerica is the first production car to adopt an innovative rotating roof movement in combination with electrochromic technology developed exclusively for glass surfaces of these dimensions, with Saint Gobain. The Fioravanti-patented rotating roof concept allows the Ferrari 575M Superamerica driver to electrically drop the top in 10 seconds flat, making it the world’s fastest convertible berlinetta (320 km/h top speed). Derived from the Ferrari 575M Maranello, the Superamerica is available with either an F1-style or manual gearbox. Its big 12-cylinder engine has been boosted to deliver 540 hp too. The new car can also be fitted with the GTC Handling package which offers Ferrari’s very latest high-tech features including carbon ceramic brakes. The Ferrari 575M Superamerica’s unusual electric roof has been dubbed Revocromico to highlight the unique combination of its rearward rotation movement and electrochromic technology. It has a carbon-fibre structure and the boot capacity remains unchanged whether the roof is open or closed too. The glass rear window also acts as a highly effective wind deflector when the roof is open. Read more: Ferrari 575M Superamerica 2005

Monte Carlo - You don’t argue with the classics. In the case of Ferraris, the front-engine V-12 cars have a purity of form and an aristocratic bloodline that puts a bedrock foundation of substance beneath their undeniable style. After a long absence from the lineup, the 550 Maranello reintroduced that classic Ferrari layout and, as it happened, ushered in a new golden age for the storied Italian marque. Now the old man in the Ferrari stable, the 575–ne 550–Maranello for its final model year has spun off a special variant, the Superamerica. Aside from resurrecting a name from a previous Ferrari glory era, the Superamerica is most notable for its one-of-a-kind rotating glass roof.

What at first might seem to be the gimmicky gilding of an aged lily turns out to be just the right flourish for a car that has aged like a good malt whisky. The point may be infinitely arguable, but we’d assert that the 575 Maranello is the most enjoyable current Ferrari, more relaxed than the F430 yet more svelte than the 612 Scaglietti. The Superamerica’s flashy top, as well as its other, lesser modifications, makes it even more of a pleasure-mobile than the standard 575.

We drove the Superamerica in Monaco, which, like most locales in which Ferraris gather in number, is a place where seeing and being seen are major pastimes. In the Superamerica, the fun starts after just seven seconds, which is the time it takes the electrochromatic, laminated-glass roof to fling itself back onto the deck lid (after a quick yank of the parking brake and a release of the handle on the windshield header). Not only is the fancy flip top fast-acting, but its integrated rear window, which pivots around but remains in place, acts as a wind blocker, protecting your artfully mussed hair from the ignominy of natural mussing. Because the open top lies on top of the carbon-fiber deck lid (without interfering with its operation), trunk space is undiminished. When the top is up and it’s shade rather than sun that you seek, a dial on the console turns the glass from pale green to dark blue, thereby blocking 99.5 percent of the heat and much of the light. The car also does this automatically when shut off, to keep the interior from baking. Read more: Ferrari 575M Superamerica 2005

In this post we are talking about Ferrari 550 Barchetta Pininfarina 2001

Ferrari 550 Barchetta Pininfarina 2001

The first car to leave the Maranello factory in 1947 was a red, V12-engined barchetta. From the outset it was designed as a racing car and it went on to win at its second outing – the Grand Prix of Rome. Alongside the racing cars development continued apace for a road-going version. This is how the 166 MM – the first Ferrari to win the Le Mans 24 Hours and also see use as a high-performance, road-going two-seater – was created. The history of the V12 front-engined Ferraris started here. Many were to follow, and amongst the most significant were the 250 California and the 365 GTS4, which is better known as the Daytona. The 550 Barchetta Pininfarina is the perfect interpretation of the classic, open-top front-engined V12 Ferrari sports car, complete with modern styling and technology. Read more: Ferrari 550 Barchetta Pininfarina 2001

In this post we are talking about Ferrari 360 Spider 2001

Ferrari 360 Spider 2001

At the introduction of Ferrari’s new 360 Spider in Monaco, we were shown an in-car video of one lap of the Grand Prix course as driven by Michael Schumacher in his Formula 1 Ferrari. This tape has telemetry subtitles to help you understand the plot, and we goggled at it in awe as the speed display scrambled to well over 300 kilometers per hour in the tunnel along the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. That’s 186-plus miles an hour in local speed lingo, and it’s completely inconceivable to anyone who’s ever driven through that tunnel. Later, while at the wheel of the new 360 Spider, we did drive through that curved cavern, and although we didn’t quite reach 186 mph, we did get to 8500 rpm, which we think is just as much fun and not nearly as dangerous. See, the unattenuated sounds coming from the rear of the Spider at those revs are just about worth the $171,000 price of admission. That soundtrack mixes a soft pulsing zing from the valvetrain with the bright, edgy blare from the four exhaust tips and then overlays it with an uninhibited induction howl from a scoop behind the driver’s left ear. The 360-series was designed from the outset to be supplied in both coupe and convertible forms — an outcome made somewhat easier by the car’s stiff aluminum space frame. Still, any roofectomy requires some structural reinforcements. Read more: Ferrari 360 Spider 2001