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As far as I know, the new spelling of "Spider" was first officially used by Ferrari with the introduction of the 348 Spider. The reason for the spelling was probably just a marketing decision. Perhaps it felt more modern at the time, or perhaps they were influenced by the fact that Maserati's open-top version of the Biturbo was being marketed as the Maserati Spyder. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Old thread, but traveling for T'giving allows time to read old threads. So, my understanding is that when the development of the targa top, the GTS abbreviation stood for Gran Turismo SPYDER. The SPIDER name was then reserved for full convertible models. The trim levels for the 348 are GTS (targa) GTB and Spider (convertible). Seems that I recall reading this many years ago, but don't recall where. Ken
Cabriolet, in the case of Ferrari, seems to only apply to those models whose cabins have four seats. Mondial Cabriolet, 456 Cabriolet (conversion) 400i Cabriolet (conversion) - except for the earliest models (166 and 212 Inters, 250 GT PF Cabs, 410 Superamerica Boano Cab, etc.). Ferrari changed from Spyder to Spider with the 348 - but without any clear reason. There is no Y in the Italian alphabet, so it was only ever 'spyder' to begin with since horse-drawn carriages were spelled that way. The 365 GTB/4 was nearly dubbed the 'Daitona', but callous American press nixed that before it made any headway. But I guess that's a story for another day.
I asked this question 15 years ago and not much has changed? 'Why do people refer to the new ones as "Spyder" when Ferrari named their cars "Spider"?' Why do people that actually own a 'Spider' call it a 'Spyder'? Do they not look at the spelling on the back of their car?