Ferrari 458 Spider 2011 Review - International

Name: Ferrari 458 Spider 2011 Review - International
Brand: Ferrari

Going fast, Ferrari's new drop-top is sold out until 2013

Ferrari 458 Spider: First Drive

International launch
Maranello, Italy

What we liked?

>> racecar-like reflexes, awesome grip
>> Brilliantly designed, clever roof system
>> Revised engine intake and exhaust sounds

Not so much

>> Not much not to like
>> Sun visor doesn’t swing to the side
>> Passenger vanity mirror is warped plastic

OVERVIEW?

>> For the lucky few, one to live with every day

We know what you’re thinking. This is ‘just’ a Ferrari 458 Italia with a removable lid. That’s what I dismissed it as at first, but it’s so much more than that.

For starters, the 458 Spider has completely new metal from the door handles back – on and under the skin. It’s testament to the cleverness of the design that it looks so much like the coupe.

The easy way to pick it (when the roof is up) is the discreet split across the two-piece roof that enables it to tuck away so neatly (and in just 14 seconds).

The lack of air ducts just behind the side glass is the other giveaway, as is the small rear window. The ducts are now at the rear of the engine cover, hidden below mesh under the wide ‘plank’ that links the tail-lights.

The roof itself is a work of art, both in design and engineering terms. It took seven years to perfect (seven years!!!) with help from Webasto, a German company that specialises in supplying folding roof expertise to the biggest names in the automotive world.

The windscreen is the same as that fitted to the coupe, but it has been tilted back ever so slightly to give the Spider a lower roofline.

Then there are the changes to the chassis and its electronically controlled systems that give the 458 Spider faster reflexes than the four Spider models that preceded it... And then there’s the sound, which you can now hear more clearly even with the roof up because the back window goes down.

Ferrari won’t say so openly, but it has wisely redesigned the 458 Spider intake and exhaust systems to create a deeper, more purposeful sound than the 458 Italia, which was considered by some as sounding too nasally.

Unlike the 458 Italia coupe – 70 per cent of which are driven only on weekends, and 20 per cent of those on track days – the 458 Spider is a daily driver. More than half will be driven during the week, the company says... Which is why the suspension is slightly more supple, yet gives nothing away in agility and handling.

As with previous Spider models, the 458 drop top comes about 18 months after the 458 coupe. It’s worth the wait but, if you want one, you may have to wait another 18 months.

For the moment the 458 Spider is the car money can’t buy. It is sold out globally for 12 months. In Australia, although the first cars will arrive next June, if you order one today you’ll see it at the start of 2013.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT?

>> One grade, and endless personalisation

For now there is only one 458 Spider variant, with one engine and transmission – a 4.5-litre V8 backed by a seven-speed dual-clutch automated transmission.

Race-ready Scuderia versions will presumably follow, but they’re still some years away. In the meantime, there is Ferrari’s usual endless list of colour and trim options to ensure no two 458 Spiders are the same. The only option that is ticked for all Australia-bound cars is cruise control. A wise move.

The price is yet to be announced in Australia because the local distributor is yet to negotiate it with Italy, but we’ve had a pretty good guess. In foreign markets the 458 Spider is 14 per cent dearer than the 458 Italia. In Australia, given the coupe sells for $526,950 plus on-roads, the drop top should equate to almost $600,000.

The fact that it costs $257,000 in the USA – the biggest market for the 458 Spider ahead of China – will likely bring tears to most buyers’ eyes.

The bulk of the price difference is tied up in import duty and Luxury Car Tax, but there is also an extra $100,000 or so unaccounted for. That is presumably the extra margin for right-hand drive vehicles, sold in lower volume globally but still just as expensive to develop as left-hand-drive versions. That and the fact that Australia doesn’t have quite the same buying power as the world’s two biggest car markets.

MECHANICAL?

>> Same V8 engine but it sings a different tune?

The 4.5-litre direct-injection V8 fitted to the Spider is the same all-new engine fitted to the 458 Italia launched 18 months ago. A 90-degree V8 with a displacement of 4499cm3, it is designed to rev to 9000rpm.

Given the high revs and the cornering potential of the 458, Ferrari has fitted a dry sump oil system to force feed oil into the engine. The flat-plane crankshaft with 180 degrees between its throws is typical of Ferraris – and racecars. Ferrari says the even firing order between banks enables a more efficient exhaust manifold design.

Interestingly, Ferrari quotes two power output figures on the coupe version. It says a maximum of 419kW is produced at low vehicle speeds and 425kW at top speed (in excess of 300km/h) because of the induction system's ram air effect.

The 458 Spider doesn’t get the ram effect air intakes behind the side glass; instead it has two vertical tubes the diameter of pet food cans than suck air into the engine. No power distinction is made with the 458 Spider, so I guess 419kW will have to make do.

Maximum torque is rated at 540Nm at 6000rpm, with 80 per cent of that available at 3250rpm.

Despite weighing 50kg more than the coupe acceleration is the same: 3.4 seconds from 0 to 100km/h. Yet, curiously, top speed is capped at 320km/h compared to the coupe’s claim of 325km/h. Perhaps the difference is the ram air induction system of the coupe at those speeds.

The Spider is more fuel efficient than previous generations (13.3L/100km) so Ferrari has fitted a smaller petrol tank (down from 95 litres to 86). The only problem is, on full noise, it runs dry pretty quickly.

Perhaps in response to feedback that the 458 Italia sounded tone deaf, Ferrari has beefed up the aural delights of the Spider. It’s not quite Lamborghini Gallardo V10 baritone, but it’s much meaner than before. To achieve this the air intake tract was redesigned and, although the three exhaust tips are the same as those in the coupe, the mufflers themselves have unique baffles.

The Spider sounds glorious the moment you’re above 2500rpm. It snaps, crackles and pops up and down gears like a racecar. Thank god there’s no clutch pedal - all this joy comes courtesy of a flick of a gear lever behind the steering wheel.

As with the coupe, the middle exhaust is not just for show (although, technically speaking, the three chrome tips are). It’s a resonator that helps make an F1-style sputter at certain revs.

The chassis engineers have also softened off the suspension slightly. The 458 Italia is for hardcore enthusiasts; the Spider is for daily drivers.

It would be easy to over-react to that observation, but the Spider is by no means soft. It could also just as easily handle track-day punishment, especially with the carbon-ceramic brake discs that have been on all new Ferraris since 2008. Personally, I reckon Ferrari has got the 458 Spider just right.

PACKAGING?
>> Clever design creates room and a stronger body
From where the driver sits, the 458 Spider looks exactly the same as the coupe. The superbly crafted dashboard with the Opera House-style air-conditioning vents is the same, as is the F1-style steering wheel with the bright red start button and alloy traction control switch (with five settings, from ‘wet road’ to ‘I’m an F1 driver’).

In redesigning the rear half of the body, Ferrari has created a little more legroom in front of the seats and a fraction more room behind the seats – even though the wheelbase is the same as the coupe. The company says it can squeeze a golf bag behind both pews. They would want to be short clubs, and perhaps not a full set…

Nonetheless, the space is useful for a carry-on travel bag for both the driver and passenger. And of course, there’s the sizeable cargo space under the bonnet.

Legroom is okay, but after a day of enthusiastic driving both my passenger and I enjoyed stretching our legs afterwards. The foot wells on both sides are quite narrow.

As you might expect, the quality of the leather and the stitching is top notch. And the design is elegant yet functional. Which is why it’s odd to find two very small details to pick on. The passenger vanity mirror appears to be made of cheap plastic. It’s so distorted, it would be like doing your make-up in the House of Mirrors at an amusement park.

And then there are the (leather) sunvisors. Neither of them swing across to block the sun from the side glass. It’s the same in the coupe.

Of course, the 458 Spider redeems itself in the way it drives, which is largely due to the strengthened body and the retuned, magnetically controlled suspension.

Convertibles typically lack the body stiffness of a coupe because the roof helps hold everything together. Imagine a cardboard shoebox without the lid, and you get the idea. Thus a lot of effort goes into adding strength and stiffness to the lower body – which even then still can’t match the rigidity of a coupe.

Ferrari is nonetheless proud of the gains made with the latest Spider. The previous F430 Spider had 50 per cent less torsional stiffness than the coupe on which it was based. Ferrari says the 458 Spider has only 30 per cent less torsional stiffness than the latest coupe. It feels as solid as a rock.

For the true trivia buffs, Ferrari used five types of alloy in the extrusions, three types of alloy in the castings, and two types of alloy in the bodywork.

Most of the development time, however, went into the roof design. Ferrari wanted a folding metal hardtop and started sketching its first ideas in 2004 – several years before it started work on the 458 Italia coupe. By 2006 it had built its first prototype, but even then the company wasn’t happy. It ended up trialling five different systems before settling on this one, developed in conjunction with Webasto.

Webasto is a world leader in folding metal roof technology, supplying all the big names including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi – and Ferrari, among others. Webasto also did the folding metal roof on the Ferrari California.

In the case of the Spider, the net result is a folding metal roof that weighs just 25kg – that’s half the weight of the fabric roof in the F430 Spider. I asked three different engineers to clarify this three times. As remarkable as it sounds it appears to be true. Apparently the weight saving came in a better designed, lighter folding mechanism.

Compared to the 458 Italia coupe, the overall increase in the 458 Spider’s weight is 50kg (to 1430kg); the other 25kg came from extra strengthening in the underbody and structure (For the record, the F430 Spider was 70kg heavier than the F430 coupe, at 1520kg).

SAFETY?
>> You should be okay as long as you don’t get too carried away
Don’t hold your breath for an ANCAP crash test score on this car. Chances are a car like this could blow the independent authority’s budget for the year. So we have to take Ferrari’s word for its safety credentials.

As with all new Ferraris, there are four airbags: two frontal airbags and one in each door for side impact protection. But Ferrari aims to avoid a crash in the first place. The latest generation of carbon ceramic discs give the 458 Spider a shorter stopping distance than its predecessor (pulling up from 100km/h in 32.8 metres, compared to 35.1 in the F430 Spider).

And it has finessed the traction and stability control settings. It’s the predictive text of the automotive world. The car knows if you’re travelling too fast to round a bend, and subtly trims power and applies the brakes. As for traction out of corners, the clever electronically controlled differential apportions just the right amount of power.

Most of the time you don’t even know this is going on around you, fixing your little mistakes. Of course, if you go way too hot into a corner, the system can’t over-rule the laws of physics.

But the 458 Spider is an incredibly capable and confidence-inspiring car

COMPETITORS?

>> Lambo, Porsche, Audi– and your bank manager

All of the Ferrari 458 Spider’s main competitors are at least $200,000 cheaper – but they all have their pros and cons.

The Lamborghini Gallardo V10 convertible is getting a bit long in the tooth but it’s still an epic car. Pros: that V10 sound and all-wheel-drive grip. Cons: it has a robotised manual which doesn’t have gear changes as smooth as the twin-clutch Ferrari.

The Audi R8 convertible has supercar looks, is available with V8 or V10 power and, as with the Lamborghini, is all-wheel drive. It’s plush, fast and turns a lot of heads – but it’s not as nimble as the Ferrari.

The next generation Porsche 911 convertible in standard and Turbo variants should go on sale by this time next year, so it’s hard to compare for now. But we know that the 911 is probably the only vehicle among the 458 Spider’s peers that can handle repeated track punishment.

The bank manager may be the final hurdle to 458 Spider ownership, but an 18-month waiting list will at least ensure the residuals are protected in the short term.

ON THE ROAD?

>> The Spider takes the 458 to a new level

Eighteen months is a long time in the car business, and Ferrari has used it wisely. That’s how long it’s been since the 458 Italia went on sale. And although Ferrari’s first all-new, ground-up, mid-engined sportscar in more than a decade was a massive leap forward, engineers never stop fettling and finding ways to make their creations even better.

The upshot is that with a better understanding of the 458 architecture (and improvements to the software that tames the beast), the engineers have managed to extract more magic from the chassis.

As we’ve mentioned earlier, the suspension has been softened – but it’s not soft. It’s a superb balance between comfort and handling that’s a rare find in the automotive world. Customarily, one cancels out the other.

There are three types of tyres available on the 458 – Michelin, Bridgestone and Pirelli. All are superb but, for mine, the new generation Pirelli P Zero has the edge on this car. It gives better steering feel and, subjectively at least, the most grip in most situations. Customers can choose which tyres come with the car if they so desire.

So, the suspension, steering and handling are all highlights. Indeed, I reckon the coupe could take a leaf from the Spider’s book. For now, though, Ferrari says the 458 Italia remains a harder, track-focused car.

The Spider still has cat-like reflexes, however. The V8 seems to rev with the same freedom and eagerness as a supebike's. The throttle is so sensitive that slight bumps in the road can alter engine revs if the driver’s foot is unsettled on the pedal.

The throttle is laser-like in accuracy, so it’s a good thing the chassis is just as sharply tuned. The steering feel is light yet reassuring because it’s so direct.

The 458 Spider’s suspension overhaul is critical to its success because it enables everything else to work well. If the tyres are making good contact with the road and the car feels balanced, the rest is a cinch.

And that’s the thing: the 458 Spider feels so easy to drive, the car is doing all the hard work for you. Finally a Ferrari road car that makes mere mortals feel like champions.

There will of course be the hardcore enthusiasts who’ll cry foul, insisting that a Ferrari should scare you just a little bit every time you take it out. But we disagree.

It’s one of the tragedies of the automotive world that masterpieces of design and engineering stay locked in garages. Now at least we might see more of them on the road, more often.

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Ferrari 458 Spider 2011 Review - International

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