Ferrari Launches Its 50th Convertible, the 488 Pista Spyder

Ferrari has taken the wraps off the convertible version of the recently launched 488 Pista. The new car, called the Ferrari 488 Pista Spyder is the Italian supercar maker's 50th convertible ever and features a metal folding roof. It is surprising that Ferrari hasn't given the Pista cabriolet a more glamorous name and continues to call it the 'Spyder' since the drop versions of the 'performance' V8 engined cars in the past have been given names like the 16M (for the F430 Scuderia convertible) and the Aperta (for the 458 Speciale).

(Ferrari 488 Pista Spyder)

The new Ferrari 488 Pista Spyder uses the same 3.9-litre V8 engine that has won the 'Engine Of The Year' award three times in a row. The twin-turbo V8 makes 720 bhp of peak power and 770 Nm of peak torque, enough to take it from 0-100 kmph in just 2.85 seconds. The Ferrari 488 Pista Spyder has the same top whack as the coupe, 340 kmph! However, due to the face that the drop top roof changes aero, the 0-200 kmph time is slightly slower at 8-seconds as compared to the coupe's 7.6-seconds.

(Ferrari 488 Pista Spyder)

Of course, the Ferrari 488 Pista Spyder is also heavier than the coupe by 90 kg but to compensate the weight, Ferrari does offer a set of carbon fibre race wheels that are 20 per cent lighter than the standard aluminium ones. The extreme weight saving also means that the door handles have been replaced by a strap and that the carpets in the car have been removed and replaced with a patterned aluminium footplate.

(Ferrari 488 Pista Spyder)

That said, considering the fact that you can get the roof down and hear that screaming V8 even more clearly than ever before seems to be well worth the extra weight that goes into the car. And what we like even more is the fact that for a change, Ferrari has released the official pictures of the car in a colour that is not the standard Rosso Scuderia or Rosso Corsa or Rosso Dino - all variants of red and instead in a white with blue striping aping the race stripes on the standard Ferrari 488 Pista.