Just unveiled, the brand new Ferrari 488 Pista Spider is a soft-top version of their 488 Pista Spider Coupe, and is lauded as the most powerful Ferrari V8 convertible ever. Baroque Ground finds out more
Ferrari unveiled its most powerful V8 convertible ever, the brand new 488 Pista Spider soft-top on the Pebble Beach Golf Course in California at the recent 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on 25 August, where more than 20,000 car aficionados gathered this year.
This super car is also the 50th convertible model ever created by the Italian marque. It’s another iteration in Ferrari’s top-selling 488 models and boasts the most powerful Ferrari V8 engine ever, with 720 horsepower on twin turbos. The Pista Spider with its retractable soft top can reach 62 miles per hour in 2.85 seconds, and boasts a top speed of 211 miles per hour. This top speed is the same spec as the Ferrari Pista Coupe. It takes 0.4 seconds more when the car goes from standstill to 124 miles per hour, completed in 8 seconds.
The name ‘Pista’ translates from Italian to mean ‘track’ – and this is a perfect description of where the new super car will be most comfortable. Aside from its folding roof and bold blue racing stripe down the front of the white car, the Pista Spider convertible is very similar to the coupe. Notable differences include new bespoke diamond-finish 20-inch alloy wheels that boast a novel 10-spoke star effect. There are also optional one-piece carbon-fiber wheels that give a 20% weight reduction over the alloy wheels.
Talking of weight – that’s apparently 3,042 pounds, relatively light because of the extensive use of carbon fiber and other lightweight materials. The folding soft top roof adds 200 pounds to the Pista Spider, which is expected to have a relatively high price tag, in the region of $350,000, in keeping with its limited run, and definitely more expensive than the Pista coupe.
Like its predecessor, the new Pista Spider convertible also boasts launch control that is actuated by a button. Traction control settings are dynamic and the chassis is firm and steady. Door handles have been replaced with thin leather straps and instead of floor mats there are aluminium plates.