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The F430 Spider joins the F430 as the latest addition to the new generation of Ferrari V8-engined sports cars. The Spider boasts all of the F430’s stunning technology, itself the product of a close working relationship with Ferrari’s Gestione Sportiva F1 racing division.

Serving as the replacement to the outgoing 360 Spider, the F430 Spider features a new 4.3-liter V8 and a host of subtle styling changes: revised headlights, larger front air dam inlets, raised rear haunches with more pronounced vents, and a revised rear end that includes a new fascia and taillights sitting higher on the body. The F430 Spider’s all aluminium bodywork has also been carefully strengthened as has its chassis to guarantee both safety and the structural rigidity demanded by a car as high performance as this.

Two very robust steel roll-bars are integrated into the windshield structure to guarantee maximum occupant protection. The electric hood is fully automatic and fold away under its own flush-fitting tonneau cover, allowing Ferrari’s engineers to carefully hone the aerodynamics of the car with the hood down

Styling:
The F430’s design, created by Pininfarina in collaboration with Frank Stephenson, is inspired by the car’s exceptional engineering.

The aggression and performance of the F430’s design has been effortlessly transferred to the Spider so that the new model exudes all of the breathtaking elegance typical of a Ferrari drop-top. In design terms, this means that the new Spider has an even stronger personality and more muscular stance, both of which strongly hint at its powerful engineering and blistering performance. Their shape was inspired by the Ferrari 156 F1 that Phil Hill drove to his F1 World Championship title in 1961.

The F430 Spider Hood:
The F430 Spider is the only uncompromising mid-engine convertible to boast a compact, fully automatic electric hood that allows the engine to be seen at all times. This stylistic flourish comes courtesy of a soft top system designed to take up very little space indeed. The fully-lined electric hood is completely automatic, and is opened and closed by seven electrohydraulic actuators. The hood folds over twice before disappearing completely into a well just ahead of the engine compartment.

Opening and closing the F430 Spider’s hood takes 20 seconds from start to finish. The driver is alerted that the movement is complete by an audio signal.

Top-down, the Spider interior is still moderately windy—it’s calmer with both side windows up. If you don’t want wind in your hair, buy the Berlinetta.

The effort, money and weight spent in making the convertible body rigid is evident by the lack of evidence. There is no cowl shake, and barely a hint of rearview mirror shake. The car feels extremely solid.

To illustrate the detail Ferrari has gone to in order to maximize driving enjoyment in the Spider, consider this: when the mannetino is in Sport mode, the dual exhaust bypass valves open at 4000 rpm rather than 2900 rpm on the Berlinetta, so the exhaust note will be marginally quieter during low-stress cruising in the open car.

All of this turns you into a far better driver than you probably are. But would you buy an expensive sports car to embarrass yourself? I think not.

There are no cupholders, but there is storage space inside for oddments. You’ll pack light because the trunk is only 8.8 cubic feet in capacity. A carpeted shelf behind the seat offers additional storage space.

Unlike Ferraris of just a few years ago, such comfort and convenience features as an air conditioning system that actually works, a high-end stereo, satellite navigation and even Bluetooth cell phone compatibility are part of the F430’s offering.

Just about everything mentioned here is of course available on the F430 Berlinetta too. But if you can drop the top so those Maranello boys can see exactly who that lucky driver is (and, if you’re really lucky, which supermodel is accompanying you), well, why would you not want that?

Driven hard on public roads, the car will understeer unless you help it around the corner with a dose of throttle.

Get it wrong, and a panoply of electronic aids bails you out. ABS, Electronic Brake Force Distribution and Traction Control are common these days. The Ferrari-exclusive electronic differential, developed originally for Formula One racing but now banned there, balances power right to left, based on the grip available.

Directional Stability Control (dubbed CST in Ferrari-terms, for Control, Stability and Traction) does what it always does: tidy up your line based on how the car interprets what you’re trying to do. It activates sooner or later, more intrusively or less, depending on the mannetino setting, which in turn depends on your own confidence level.

Every clockwise notch of the mannetino reduces the transmission shift speed, re-programs the E-Diff, firms up the shocks, and dials back the operational threshold of the traction control and directional stability control systems. At the most extreme CST-OFF setting, all you’ve got left is ABS, Electronic Brake Force Distribution, and DSC only under the most severe stress. This setting is—or should be— reserved for racetrack work, and maybe not even then, unless you have your own exotic car body shop.

I found Sport mode fine for most driving, with Race for more energetic blasts through the hills west of Maranello.

And one of the most amazing and endearing qualities of the F430 Berlinetta is carried over into the Spider: for a car of such high performance, it doesn’t beat you up—ride quality is very good.

Just need to cruise to the store for an espresso? Try Low Grip on the mannetino, and push the button to select Automatic shift mode.

Shifting is much smoother than in previous F1 gearboxes, but still nowhere near as good as a conventional automatic. Consider it a reasonable compromise.

The F430 Spider is powered by the new 90 degree V8 featuring Ferrari’s traditionally uncompromising design approach with a flat-plane crank (180 degrees between throws). The improvement in terms of performance, weight and reduction of overall dimensions is yet another result of Ferrari applying its wealth to F1 experience to its road cars: + 25% (465 Nm at 5,250 rpm, 80% of which is already available at 3,500 rpm) and powered by 23% (490 hp/360 kW @ 8,500 rpm).

Electronic Differential:
The E-Diff or electronic differential, the real new feature on F430, is now standard equipment on the Spider. On the track, the E-Diff guarantees maximum grip out of bends, eliminating wheel spin. On the road it is a formidable technological refinement that improves roadholding.
For the driver, the E-Diff increases handling balance and grip (which noticeably improves acceleration), improves roadholding on the limit and also guarantees even better steering feel.

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