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In the middle of a cool Chicago summer, sunlight bounces off the unmistakeable Rosso Corsa hood of a V8 Ferrari. A mere eighth of a depression of the throttle produces a sound I can only describe as a chorus of angels descending to earth on winged stallions. The shifter lights that sequence atop the wheel just about make up for the 458 Spider’s ($262,762) lack of a manual shifter as I slice through 2nd, 3rd and 4th like a katana through a melon. My hair blows in the wind, and I try to downplay the fat grin on my face: my worlds have collided, the first being my childhood lust for the Prancing Horse brand, and the second, my disdain for convertibles. Against all odds, Ferrari’s delicious V8 monster has won me over to top-down driving.
For the 458 Spider, Ferrari slightly altered the 458 Italia coupe’s exhaust, giving it a throatier growl. But they didn’t stop there; they created a convertible that’s nearly indistinguishable from the coupe — even the average car lover will have a hard time telling the difference, when the top’s up.
That’s because the 458 Spider’s retractable hardtop is nothing short of miraculous. The 14-second transition from hardtop to drop-top is downright balletic; the roof disappears under a tonneau cover, which doubles as the twin cowls that tail the Spider’s headrests. The top-up look is more pleasing, and there’s virtually nothing to criticize about it — no impossible-to-ignore soft top like in the 360 Modena Spider, or anything like the fold-back electrochromic roof of the 2005 Ferrari Superamerica. And according to Ferrari, the new roof saves over fifty pounds off a soft-top setup. It’s hard to believe that this spectacular Italian beast just happens to be a convertible, and an improved one. It’s a driver’s car first, and a convertible second; without track time in both the coupe and the convertible, it’s hard to say which is better. That is a statement itself.
UNDER THE HOOD
