2012 ferrari 458 spider

2012 ferrari 458 spider

2012 ferrari 458 spider

2012 ferrari 458 spider

2012 ferrari 458 spider

The Ferrari 458 Italia is the best car I have ever driven. You might assume the Italian supercar earns that distinction on sheer performance and sex appeal, but the truth is that the 458 is a much more complete car. Its excellence is in how it combines measured balance with raw capability unlike any other vehicle. The 458 Italia is sophisticated but visceral. Aggressive yet refined. Elegant and brutish. With the Spider, Ferrari aims to add one more contradiction to the 458's achievements: a convertible that's also a coupe.

Ferrari's task in building a Spider is not quite as intuitive as it sounds. The open-air 458 is certainly a predictable and modest evolution of the Italia, but the buyers of the two cars are very different. The average 458 Italia will see most of its action on the weekend, without a passenger, and on shorter trips. Spiders, on the other hand, are more likely to be daily drivers exposed to city streets, often with a passenger in the right seat. More notably, Ferrari asserts that Spider owners drive with a sporty -- not aggressive -- style.

Even with buyers using their cars in an entirely different manner, Ferrari won't compromise any of the intensity in its mid-engine coupe to deliver a droptop version. Despite the fact that the Spider is 30 percent less rigid than the coupe, the spring rates are unchanged. And while the magnetorheological dampers are specifically tuned for the Spider, you won't notice a difference in the ride quality between the two cars. The Spider is every bit as firm, controlled, and focused as the Italia. The steering is just as sharp, the throttle pedal just as responsive, and the suspension just as poised. Twist the manettino to Race mode, however -- perhaps an unlikely move for the less aggressive convertible buyers -- and the Spider can't hide the fact that it's missing a major structural component. With the dampers firmed up, the bumps aren't just felt through the seat. They're seen in a small wiggle of the windshield and heard in the muted rattle of the aluminum chassis. Nothing unusual, but this is the one clear difference between coupe and convertible.

The 458 Spider's retractable roof is a two-piece hardtop inspired by the 575 Superamerica. Like that car, the roof rotates -- rather than folds -- into its stored position. Unlike that car, the 458 Spider uses an aluminum skin instead of glass. Ferrari claims that the 458's hardtop assembly is actually some 55 pounds lighter than the 430 Spider's fabric roof. It adds roughly 110 pounds to the Italia's 3400-pound curb weight.

Ferrari f430 spider

Ferrari f430 spider

 Ferrari f430 spider

Ferrari f430 spider

Ferrari f430 spider

The F430 Spider joins the F430 as the latest addition to the new generation of Ferrari V8-engined sports cars. The Spider boasts all of the F430's stunning technology, itself the product of a close working relationship wîth Ferrari's Gestione Sportiva F1 racing division. The F430 Spider's all-aluminium bodywork has also been carefully strengthened as has its chassis to guarantee both occupant safety and the structural rigidity demanded by a car as high performance as this. Two very robust steel roll-bars are integrated into the windshield structure to guarantee maximum occupant protection. The electric hood is fully automatic and folds away under its own flush-fitting tonneau cover, allowing Ferrari's engineers to carefully hone the aerodynamics of the car wîth the hood down.


STYLINGThe F430's lineshape, created by Pininfarina in collaboration wîth Frank Stephenson is inspired by the car's exceptional engineering. The aggression and performance of the F430's design has been effortlessly transferred to the Spider so that the new model exudes all of the breathtaking elegance typical of a Ferrari drop-top. In design terms, this means that the new Spider has an even stronger personality and more muscular stance, both of which strongly hint at its powerful engineering and blistering performance. Their shape was inspired by the Ferrari 156 F1 that Phil Hill drove to his F1 World Championship title in 1961.


HOOD


The F430 Spider is the only uncompromising mid engined droptop to boast a compact, fully automatic electric hood that allows the engine to be seen at all times. This stylistic flourish comes courtesy of a soft top system designed to take up very little space indeed.


The fully-lined electric hood is completely automatic, and is opened and closed by seven electrohydraulic actuators. The hood folds over twice before disappearing completely into a well just ahead of the engine compartment. Opening or closing the F430 spider's hood takes 20 seconds from start to finish. The driver is alerted that the movement is complete by an audio signal.


ENGINE


The F430 Spider is powered by the new 90° V8 featuring Ferrari's traditionally uncompromising design approach wîth a flat-plane crank (180° between throws.) The improvement in terms of performance, weight and reduction of overall dimensions is yet another result of Ferrari applying its wealth of F1 experience to its road cars: + 25% (465 Nm at 5,250 rpm, 80% of which is already available at 3,500 rpm) and power by 23% (490 hp at 8,500 rpm.)

Ferrari festival 2011

Ferrari festival 2011

 Ferrari festival 2011

 Ferrari festival 2011

Ferrari festival 2011

The Ferrari Festival is an annual Italian Buffet that takes place at the Italian Village restaurant in downtown Chicago. You get to see a group of modern and vintage Ferraris and all of proceeds the benefit Children's Memorial Hospital. My favorite car of the day was the Ferrari F40. The F40 is incredibly rare, fast, and still looks amazing. I wish I could have stayed to hear it fire up. My number two would defiantly be the 599 GTB. I think the GTB looks amazing, plus it's a proper, front-engine, V12, Ferrari. I'd jump at the chance to drive any of these cars (except for the one that was leaking radiator fluid).Earlier tonight was the 6th annual Ferrari Festival, sponsored by the Ferrari Club of America, Ottawa Chapter.  It was a decent display of fine Italian iron, with examples ranging from the ’80s to today.  There was a 512 (better known as a “Testarossa”), a 348 (better known as “Magnum PI’s ride”), and even a Maserati Biturbo.  As a car show, however, it was a bit of a bust.  Not many cars had arrived by the time I left, and the cars that were there were behind a rope and guarded by a small battalion of teenagers armed with walkie-talkies who walked in front of the cars and made sure no one touched them as they cruised down the street.

Ferrari ff

Ferrari ff

 Ferrari ff

 Ferrari ff

Ferrari ff

FERRARI FF presents four new concepts ahead of its debut at the Geneva Motor Show. This concept is planned to be invested in the successor to 612, where Ferrari will be equipped with four aggressive front fascia, rear bumper expressive, and profiles of California. Ferrari will be equipped with 3.6-liter V12 engine with a power of 660 PS (485 kW / 651 hp) and torque of 683 Nm (504 lb-ft). In addition, seven-speed dual clutch transmission sends power to the system functioned (4RM) advanced four-wheel drive Ruote Motrici. No doubt, this car weighs 1790 kg can accelerate from 0-100 km / h in 3.7 seconds with top speed at 335 km / h (208 mph). In terms of efficiency, FF combined fuel consumption of 15.4 l/100 km (03.15 U.S. mpg) and CO2 emissions of 360 g / km. Ferrari showed off its brand new FF supercar for the first time in real life at a special event in Maranello, with the presentation being broadcast live on the Italian firm’s website for all to see. In case you missed it, we have some photos from the special premiere that you can check out after the jump. Those of you that would like to get an up close peek at Ferrari’s first-ever four-wheel drive model that also features a front mounted 660HP V12 and seating for four with a boot capacity of 450 liters