Ferrari announces the Frankfurt Motor Show debut of the new 488 Spider, the most powerful mid-engined V8 car from the Prancing Horse. It will be offered with a patented retractable hardtop along with new technical innovations.

The hardtop itself is a unique engineering solution that reduces the weight by some 25 kilograms while improving passenger comfort compared to a traditional fabric soft top. The retractable hardtop folds backwards in two overlapping sections to rest flush on the engine in a very compact solution. The mechanism is exceptionally smooth and takes just 14 seconds for the top to fully retract or deploy. Aside from the hardtop, the 488 Spider features technical advancements such as an aluminum spaceframe chassis and bodyshell, a new turbocharged V8 engine, and improved aerodynamics.

Based off the 488 GTB, the 488 Spider’s 4.0-liter turbocharged V8 engine produces some 670 horsepower and 760 Nm of torque. These figures are enough to rocket the 488 to 100 km/h in just three seconds and 200 km/h in just 8.7 seconds. The turbo V8 has a unique character, delivering increasing levels of power right across the rev range, and completely eliminating the traditional turbo lag with a throttle response time of just 0.8 seconds. The soundtrack is created by a variety of unique solutions including exhaust headers with longer, equal-length piping and a flat-plane crankshaft.


Designed around the concept of the retractable hard top, the 488 Spider has a spaceframe chassis made of 11 different aluminum alloys.  This yields the same torsional rigidity and beam stiffness figures as the coupe, improving the chassis’ performance by 23 percent over that of its predecessor.

To make its dynamic behavior even more engaging, the development team honed the car’s mechanical set-up in tandem with its electronic systems which are now fully integrated with the SSC2 Side Slip Angle Control System, resulting in 12 percent faster acceleration out of corners than the 458 Spider.

Over all, response times are 9 percent more rapid than the previous Spider without any compromise whatsoever being made in comfort. The car’s design was adapted to efficiently meet the typical the demands of open-top driving and use. In fact, the Spider’s dynamic behavior is effortless on even the most challenging routes. It is remarkably easy to drive on the limit thanks to flawless handling even on the most demanding of roads.