{"id":41794,"date":"2011-08-23T10:27:16","date_gmt":"2011-08-23T14:27:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=41794"},"modified":"2011-08-23T10:53:54","modified_gmt":"2011-08-23T14:53:54","slug":"first-look-ferrari-458-spider","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2011\/08\/first-look-ferrari-458-spider\/","title":{"rendered":"First Look: Ferrari 458 Spider"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The new Ferrari 458 Spider gets a folding hardtop roof.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Frankfurt Motor Show is still nearly a month away but we\u2019re already getting a good hint of what\u2019s to come at the most important European car show of the new model-year \u2013 including this first look at the Ferrari 458 Spider.<\/p>\n

As its name suggests, it\u2019s a drop-top version of the current 458, though Ferrari has opted for a folding hardtop design, rather than conventional canvas \u2013 and, in something of a surprise the Italian supercar maker claims that strategy actually saves a full 55 pounds.\u00a0 More typically, metal fold-ups, like those found on a BMW 3-Series cabriolet, are the heavier option.<\/p>\n

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Subscribe Now - It's Free!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Even with the origami metal, the Spider weighs in about 100 pounds more than the conventional Ferrari 458, adding about a tenth of a second to its 0 to 100 kmh time, which remains a still-impressive 3.4 seconds.\u00a0 As for top speed, the 458 Spider will hit 198 mph compared to 202 for the standard 458.<\/p>\n

The 458 Spider becomes the fastest Ferrari convertible ever and lags just a wee bit behind the current 202 mph Bentley Continental GTC for the all-time ragtop record.<\/p>\n

The new car maintains the 4.5-liter V-8, which makes a hefty 562 horsepower at a track-ready 9,000 RPMs.\u00a0 Torque measures out at 398 pound-feet.\u00a0 Power is fed through a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox using paddle shifters mounted behind the steering wheel.<\/p>\n

Ferrari has mounted its manettino switch, meanwhile, on the wheel itself, giving a driver the ability to rapidly shift from normal to sport to race modes.\u00a0 That automatically adjusts throttle mapping, the F1-Trac traction control and suspension settings.<\/p>\n

Though the maker is saving a few details for Frankfurt, the top is reportedly a two-piece affair that folds so nimbly there\u2019s still some modest space left in a small compartment behind the seats.\u00a0 Operating the power top takes just 14 seconds and, when down, a pair of flying buttresses remains in place \u2013 but they\u2019re functional, helping channel air to the engine and radiators.<\/p>\n

Ferrari will offer a wind blocker, meanwhile, that it claims can permit a reasonably normal conversation level at speeds up to 125 mph.<\/p>\n

If you have to ask price, the current model starts at about $277,000 \u2013 if you can find one without a long wait or premium.\u00a0 European reports indicate the maker is likely to tack on about a 15% premium for the Ferrari 458 Spider.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a higher-performance Scuderia version is under development and could give the Ferrari 458 Spider bragging rights by beating the Bentley GTC.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With its light folding hardtop, the new Ferrari 458 Spider will be the maker’s fastest convertible ever. For more about the Spider check this report from TheDetroitBureau.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"make":[],"post-state":[],"category_old":[151],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41794"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41794\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41794"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=41794"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=41794"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=41794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}