The Ferrari 488 Spider gets all the good stuff from the GTB coupe – including a new turbocharged V8 – but adds a retractable hardtop that stows in 14 seconds. Can it be as good to drive?

WHAT IS IT? The Ferrari 488 Spider is a mid-engined V8 convertible supercar. Its engine might be related to that in the California T – Ferrari’s other retractable hardtop – but the Spider is an altogether more focussed proposition, if just as suited to top-down cruising.

WHY WE’RE TESTING IT The Ferrari 458 Spider (this car’s predecessor) was seriously impressive, if never quite as rewarding to drive as the 458 Italia coupe – blame a loss of rigidity due to the roof chop. Ferrari says substantial structural revisions for the 488 Spider remedy that wobbly shortfall.

Ferrari 488 Spider Driving Front Side

THE WHEELS VERDICT Roof up, the 488 Spider delivers just as much driving excitement as the 488 GTB; roof down, it takes things to a whole new level.

PLUS: Stellar performance, agile handling, supple ride, stand-out design, coupe/cabrio versatility MINUS: Sports seats very firm; slight vibration through the steering column

Ferrari -488-Spider -driving -rear

Like that on 2012’s 458 Spider, the 488 Spider’s two-piece retractable hardtop folds beneath a neat rear deck that doubles as roll-over protection, takes around 14 seconds to stow, retains the same mechanism and adds 50kg. This time, though, an uprated pump means the mechanism works at up to 45kph; you have to pull over in Ferrari’s other retractable hardtop, the California T.

Ferrari 488 Spider Driving Side

You could always feel a little more shimmy through the 458 Spider’s structure than the 458 Italia’s, and back then Ferrari didn’t have a McLaren 650S Spider to fret over, a rival whose carbon MonoCell doesn’t suffer any loss of rigidity when you remove the roof. Hence the 488 Spider’s body is beefed with an additional vertical aluminium panel by the front axle, and a horizontal one at the rear. Ferrari claims a 20% increase in torsional stiffness. Feels like a big improvement too. Only on cratered road surfaces – and when driving topless – do little tremors sneak up the steering column. Close the roof and they vanish.

Ferrari 488 Spider Interior

Ferrari says Spider and GTB buyers are quite different – Spider owners cover more miles, often with a partner, and drive less aggressively – yet the choice says more about them than it does about the tangible differences between the cars. Both models are great drives, it’s just that one immerses you even deeper in a mind-blowing experience.

SPECS Model: Ferrari 488 Spider Engine: 3902cc V8 bi-turbo, dohc, 32v Max power: 493kW @ 8000rpm Max torque: 760Nm @ 3000rpm (in seventh gear) Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto Weight: 1525kg 0-100km/h: 3.0 sec Fuel economy: 11.4L/100km Price: $530,000 (estimate) On sale: Now