Ferrari 458 Spider arrives in Oz
The first batch of 320km/h exotic convertibles has arrived, but now there's an 18 month waiting list...The $590,000 Ferrari 458 Spider has finally arrived in Australasia as a handful of well-heeled customers eagerly awaited the convertible sports cars to roll off the container ship.
Just 10 of the gregarious Italian exotic cars have been delivered to Australia and New Zealand but if you weren't one of the few who placed an early order, take a number...
There's an 18-month waiting list for the Ferrari 458 Spider says local importer, Ateco, as global and local demand has put a huge amount of pressure on supply.
The head-turning drop-top is a stunning machine, as our first drive of the Ferrari 458 Spider revealed in Italy.
Ferrari's slinky sports car can open its metal roof in just 14 seconds, and looks stunning with the top open or closed.
It finds motive force from a highly strung 4.5-litre V8 engine that outputs 419kW/540Nm and accelerates from 0-100km/h in just 3.4 seconds, the same time it takes the 50kg lighter coupe model. That said, top speed is slightly lower - from 325km/h to 'merely' 320km/h.
Expensive carbon ceramic disc brakes help slow the Ferrari when the fun has to end.
For the record, the 458 Spider is no gas guzzler if driven lightly, with a claimed fuel consumption cycle of 13.3L/100km.
Kevin Wall, General Manager for Ferrari in Australia and New Zealand, said the cars' arrival in Australia heralds a new era of open top motoring, with the roof system taking a decade to develop.
"Unlike so many other open top cars, the Ferrari 458 Spider is not compromised by being able to lower its roof. It is every bit as much a supercar as its coupe cousin, the 458 Italia, with the same remarkable levels of performance, handling and road holding that have been lauded around the world," said Mr Wall.
"This has been achieved by a combination of a unique folding roof that has been a decade in the making and a design brief instructed the engineers to ensure nothing was sacrificed in the conversion to open top motoring.
"This has been fully achieved and, therefore, the demand for the 458 Spider around the world is no surprise."
Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site.
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
