458 Spider

I think you meant de-facto. A senior Ferrari representative told me last week that the car will be faster than the coupe. In his words"it's 2 years since the coupe was launched - and technology has moved on".

 

That would surprise me.

 

Different markets with not much cross-shopping.

 

then be prepared to be surprised.....

 

That would be the shortest build run for the model's top selling variant in recent history.

 

Ferrari dont see it that way.....they see the folding hardtop convertible as an evolution of the coupe......not a replacement.

 

If there is a coupe alongside the spider then I see a Merc SL v CL situation. The majority will want the best of both worlds, the minority/purists will want the coupe.

 

If that's the case the price of the normal coupes will rise. Not everyone wants a folding metal roof instead of a normal coupe.

 

Will the engine bay be visible when the roof is not retracted?

 

That depends on the finished product. If it's as good as a coupe and looks good as well...then why not. The coupe scud will be there for the hard core purists. This will not affect Ferrari sales one bit.

On your point that 'not everyone' wants it.....the reality is most do and will......

Eventually this will get reflected on the residuals of the current coupe......

 

yes

 

2 cents being thrown in but I am more than content with my upcoming coupe..... I for one have never really cared for convertibles... Guess it's my balding head coming into play...
I Did the jaguar XJ-S convert in the 90's but had a nice quaff back then.....

Tony......................

 

Not according to breaking news on Pistonheads!

 

I was told that with the roof off the engine bay would not be visible, but would be with the roof on......having said that I was told this some time ago and the details were still a bit sketchy.....perhaps the final logistics didnt allow for a galss cover.

 

Whether the roof is up or down you cannot see the engine. The engine cover opens like the gallardo spyder.

 

I don't see how or why they would make the spider perform better than the coupe, it would alienate quite a bit of people and i think in the long run hurt resale of the first batch of cars. Those cars are already going to be at a disadvantage once the service plan is implemented in the USA.

 

Firstly.....how many people would it alienate? Only a few in the big scheme of things.
Secondly.....Ferrari dont care about 'resale'...... they only care about 'sale'.

If the spider is to be the only regualr version available why wouldnt they make it perform as good, if not better?

 

The difference disappears if, as I said in my post, they can retain the coupe lines with a hard top and get it to within a whisker (or even match) of coupe performance. The coupe becomes a drop top, the drop top becomes a coupe. You get both cars in one so there is no difference.

 

You really think they will discontinue the 458 coupe just because they created a 458 spider? I might be wrong and ill disagree with you, but they are going to lose the now standard glass engine cover (360/430/458), create a heavier car and then offer a Scuderia or CS version that might be too raw for the average buyer. I don't see ferrari or any car manufacturer making a move this bold. They need their entry level 458 coupe for people that don't want a convertible ever and don't want a car that was designed for the track.

 

Except you get a heavier car that might not feel as nimble. A more expensive car that for some people may not want a convertible. A car that loses a now distinctive feature of a midengine 8 cyl ferrari the glass engine cover.

 

Money yes, but I did say 'if they can make it match or be close to the coupe' and there is still speculation about the engine cover.

 

About as WRONG as you could be. The dealers make a lot more money off resale than they do the initial sale. On resale, they can also set their own margins.

A dealer can resell the same car 3 times or more sometimes in 3 to 5 years.

Resale is incredibly important to their business model.

 

Its all speculation at this point, unless 15hn or nads have seen the car in person then its just he said she said. They both seem very confident and they both contradict each other on that one point so for to me that leads me to believe that the only certain things are:

A spider version is coming out

It will most likely be a folding hardtop

It will cost more money

That is it, as far as speculating that the coupe will be discontinued or whether it has the glass engine cover or better yet will perform better than the coupe, those of us in this thread do not know. Unless someone from ferrari IT is on the forum or someone that was at the unveiling is willing to clue us in we all have to wait till Sept.

 

As I said earlier, there are coupe people and spider people. I don't think the hard top convertible will be a option that some will want to pay for. There are always advantages and disadvantages with each type. Money will of course be one of the issues. Looks may be another and performance or interior space may also be sacrificed.

Do I want one? Yes. Will everyone? I don't think so.

 

The dealers dont make the cars.....the factory does......Ferrari make money from 'sale' & 'support'. They do not get a kick back from every car that is resold. That is the dealer model......and the dealer will make margin regardless of where the price in the secondary market is. Granted, as the price of a cars falls over the years this amount gets smaller in monetary terms, but remains decent in relative percentage terms.