The Ferrari 488 Pista Spider makes its debut at the 2018 Paris Motor Show after appearing at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance event earlier this year. It is essentially the 488 Pista that we saw previously but with a retractable hard top for when you need to hear the twin-turbo V8 a little better.
The powerplant is the same as the fixed top with a capacity of 3.9 litres and outputs of 720 PS (710 hp) at 8,000 rpm and 770 Nm of torque. The former is 50 PS more than a regular 488 Spider and 115 PS more than the previous special spider model, the 458 Speciale A.
Ferrari calls the 488 Pista Spider its most powerful series production spider model in its history, with a weight to power ratio of 1.92 kg/PS following a dry weight of 1,380 kg (kerb weight is 1,485 kg). A seven-speed dual-clutch transmission handles power delivery to the rear wheels, allowing for a 0-100 km/h time of 2.85 seconds and a top speed of 340 km/h.
A bevy of handling-related systems – E-Diff3, F1-Trac, Fill, Ferrari Dynamic Enhancer (FDE), Side-Slip Angle Control (SSC) 6.0 and magnetorheological damping system (SCM-E) – are all identical to the coupe. Similarly, you’ll also get 398 front and 360 mm rear brake discs that help bring the car from 200 km/h to a dead stop in 116 metres, one metre shorter than the 488 Spider.
The Italian carmaker also notes that the spider model retains many of the aerodynamic concepts of the coupe, including the S-duct, active underbody and blown spoiler. There’s also plenty of carbon-fibre components fitted as standard, with a set of 20-inch CF wheels available as an option. Meanwhile, the interior makes use of more carbon-fibre, Alcantara, aluminium, and the door handles are straps.
While the weight-saving programme is a commonality between the spider and coupe, the former is still the heavier of the two by 100 kg. The added heft is largely due to the metal-folding roof, which also requires the entire rear deck to be redesigned for rollover protection and smaller rear window. Just like the 488 Spider, that means no glass engine cover either.
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