Just so ther is no confusion, this is from "ferrarire". I like his latest rendering posted above even bettter with the new rims. Hope you don't mind, it's my new screensaver
They said they would never make a Scuderia spider -- and now you own one! (You lucky guy!) It's very hard to believe there won't be a convertible sometime in the future. My understanding is that it's a year after the intro of the coupe. I could be wrong, but history and economics are on my side. Even the 599 will be in spider form sometime soon.
Personally, I think a GTS version would be GORGEOUS!!! Can anyone do a p-shop of a 458 Italia GTS? -G.B.
If the Spider Italia looks as good with the top up as the rendering posted by Isuk, I think that Ferrari will have another barn-burner on its hands! Fred
Since the dimensions are pretty much identical to the existing 430, why would there not be the same room for a rag top?
There is, and I think that's what they'll be making for the spider. (And the WILL make one) I think what he meant regarding it having to be a lift-off is if they wanted to make a hard-top convertible.
The 430 Spider replacement may be a break in tradition - it might not be based on the 458. The large cockpit of the 458 will not be easily amenable to a Spider version and the clear trend in Spiders is away from a soft top. It seems very clear that the 430 Spider replacement is not coming anytime too soon
I would check myself before calling DM out like this. Do a quick search of his posts and you'll see that he knows what he's talking about, has an impressive history of Ferrari ownership, and thus is in a much better position to know what he's talking about than most people on this board. ...which is precisely why I asked him "why not" instead of blasting his comment.
Assuming the cockpit has a large rear shelf area it will be possible for Ferrari to move the firewall bulkhead forward and fit a roof cassette in fairly easily in the same way they did with the 430 and Lamborghini do with the Gallardo. Even Audi have managed it with their new V10 R8.
Yeah, but then anyone over 6 feet tall will not be able to drive the car. being 6'7", I'm not too keen on that idea!
Wow........ you'll just have to cut the roof off a coupe I'm afraid ...... or buy a California and drive it from the back seat (only kidding )
The 430 was designed with a Spider version in mind. That is why the 430 Spider came quickly. I do not believe that this is the case with the 458
I believe that the main reason why the F430 Spider appeared so soon after the Coupe was the fact that, since the F430 was an improvement upon the 360, with which it shared its basic structure, the main ingredients for the Spider had already been developed. Furthermore, with the 458, you not only start with a "clean-sheet" design, but you have to contend with a number of relatively new Ferrari markets, all of which want their share of new 458s. I think that the factory, which doesn't want to dilute the effect of the new car, will have to dole out 458 Coupes gradually to all of its far-flung world markets. In turn, since any 458 may be harder to come by for an individual in any given market, buyers will be grateful to be able to purchase a 458, with or without a convertible top, thus relieving the pressure for an early Spider rollout. Fred
Let me get this right so this is the F430 replacement everybody has been anxiously awaiting or is this just a whole new range of ferrari? Definately brings back the exotic style ferrari has been missing for some years now
Bleh! I'm driving a 360 spider just fine right now. I should fit the 458 great too, considering there's even more legroom in the coupes than the spiders.
The 430 top is a slight variation of the 360 spider which was already in production. When the 360 came out, it was about a year before a topless version entered the market. The same was true for the 355 and the same was true for the 348. So, history shows that the spider is usually introduced about a year after the coupe. My feeling is, that will be the case here too. There is another fly in the ointment this time around. Ferrari wants to drive potential topless owners into the California in the short term. It's cheaper and it is already in production. Some people just won't wait 2 or 3 years for a car. So, having the California around will make up for any lost topless sales (hopefully). Everyone questioned the need for a Scuderia spider. It took all of 2 months to sell out all 500 copies. That I am sure that's 500 more Scud sales then they thought they would get than if they had never made it -- and at a higher price. People love spiders (particularly in the US). Ferrari wants sales. It's simple math that will create a spider version but it will take about a year after the coupe introduction.
