The Barchetta styled racing cars are an Italian tradition and Ferrari leads the foray of these machines. With the likes of the 550 Barchetta and the 458 Spider, the Barchetta style is a trend that the Italian giant is proud to be part of. Following on the same, Ferrari has made the official public debut of its new open top 488 Spider at the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany. With a body designed by the legendary Ferrari coach builder Scaglietti and a 3.9-litre turbocharged V8 engine, the 488 Spider claims 0-100 kmph in 3 seconds with 660 horsepower and 760 Nm of torque at its disposal.
The motor is mated to Ferrari’s Formula 1 7-speed twin clutch gearbox, taking the Spider from 0-200 kmph in a ridiculously fast 8.7 seconds. The Ferrari 488 Spider is built on an aluminium space frame unlike most modern supercars which use a carbon fibre or composite monocoque but that doesn’t affect the 488 in anyway and in fact the 488 is 23% stiffer than the outgoing model. The roof on the 488 Spider is a retractable hardtop design that can be raised or lowered in just 14 seconds and has an interactive glass wind-stop system with three adjustable positions to adjust in cabin wind turbulence.
Like all modern Ferraris, the 488 comes loaded with ultra-modern tech which includes Maranello’s latest traction and stability control system called Slide Slip Angle Control. This gives the driver enough confidence to keep the tail sliding and also control the slide if it gets out of hand. Other interesting features include the Apple CarPlay which is supported across the entire Ferrari range.
In terms of performance, the Ferrari 488 at least on paper seems to be the smarter bet, blowing the Lamborghini Huracan out of the window. However, with the inclusion of a turbocharger now, the 488 Spider does have a slightly different nature over the symmetrically styled Huracan. But in true Ferrari spirit, the 488 thoroughly impresses us and the boys at Sant’Agata have their work truly cut out!
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