Video Fifth Gear Tests Ferrari 458 Spider

Vicki Butler-Henderson tests the 2012 Ferrari 458 Spider in the hills close to Maranello, Italy. While driving she starts to cry, because of the emotion… oh dear…

The open-top prancing horse is equipped with a Ferrari patented, fully retractable hard top, a world first for a sports car with this lay-out. The 458 Spider is powered by the same naturally-aspirated, direct-injection 4.5 liter V8 as the coupe. The power is transferred to the road by a dual-clutch F1 paddle-shift transmission through the E-Diff, itself integrated with the F1-Trac traction control and ABS.

The extra weight of 50kg adds a tenths to the 0-100km/h time, taking it to 3.4 seconds. Top speed drops from 325km/h to 320km/h being Ferrari’s fastest-ever convertible. The hard-top solution offers a number of advantages over the traditional folding soft-top, including a reduction of 25kg in weight and a deployment time of just 14 seconds. Seeing the system live, gives a good idea on the setup and speed of the roof.

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