2012 Ferrari 458 Spider: Test Drive

by Abhinav G. Movie Enthusiast

Availability: Spring 2012

Price: $258,000 (expected)

Rivaling Models: McLaren MP4-12C (on its way), Lamborghini Gallardo 5.2 V10 LP560 Spyder

Engine: 4.5-ltr V8 engine cranking 562-bhp of max power and 398 lb-ft of peak torque;

Transmission and Drive: automated 7 speed double-clutch manual transmission and rear wheel drive (RWD)

Estimated Fuel Economy (in city/on highways): 12 mpg /18 mpg

What’s Newfangled?

The all new 2012 Ferrari 458 Spider is a blazing fast Ferrari making its mark on the top in every department. The newly fangled 458 Spider comes with an electrically equipped, 2-piece aluminum top, which whirls and fold down on the top of its engine, giving you open cabin to put on some tan en route. The entire operation of roof takes around 20-sec, and it must be done while it’s immobile with the engine running. Albeit the 458 Spider looks pretty much like the targa top, the folded roof of the car not at all spoils the ranges of Pininfarina’s design even a little amount, and the cockpit feels in excess of effectively alfresco.

The attendant framework and the roof of the car add around 110-lbs to the 3300-lbs of total weight to the coupe. The acceleration is still the same, and the Spider still takes 3.4 seconds to sprint from 0 mph to 62 mph, but as far as top speed is concerned, the car losses around 4-mph with the top speed now being 198-mph. But even it suffers from a minor shortcoming, which we found after a lot of attempts and that’s the removal of clear plastic covers for the engine, which takes a lot of time to get removed.

Technical Details:

The oil pan of the engine of 2012 Ferrari 458 Spider has been divided into 2 detached, air-tight chambers for reducing the pumping losses and for increasing the efficiency. The ascending piston is pushed up by the pressure generated by the descending piston. There also are 4 forage pumps for reducing the amount of oil that is being splashed around the crank and lowers the frictional fall back. As a result of that all you get an inspiringly free-revved up engine. The three exhaust pipes of the car deliver different sounds. The sound here is worth the price.

Driving Nature:

We first drove the Ferrari 458 two years back, and at that time we thought of it as a car which delivers stunning and easy to get to performance. The Ferrari Spider comes with soft shock damping, which gives it a lot more supple body shell, but you hardly will notice that on the streets. Ferrari says that the new Spider is around half-second slower than its coupe at Ferrari’s Fiorano test track, but unless you aren’t played around in many of the Ferrari you wont be able to feel the lack in performance from driver’s seat. The folding roof here is of aluminum and hence it doesn’t adds much in terms of weight, but once you fold it the cockpit of the car becomes the perfect place for listening the engine sound. The car has also been given an electrically operated back screen/windbreak for minimizing the turbulence inside the cabin.

The steering here feels a lot sharp, and you easily can overdrive the Spider. But once you get use to it, the car holds the road pretty well. Though if you overuse the throttle extensively when coming out of a turn the back tires of the car will give up, the front-end although is phenomenal. The engine here gives the sound of a true racetrack car.

We don’t think you will be using the full throttle a lot on public roads, but whenever you get to use it you will be thrilled excitedly with appalled delight. Only the top most supercars in the market have the capability of delivering that performance and nature. The brand new dual-clutch Getrag gearbox is partially accountable for the ease of driving of the car. The gear shifts here are approximately instantaneous.

The standard brakes here are carbon–ceramic disc brakes, which delivers impressive stopping power. The feel of the pedal is also pretty nice and incredibly easy to modulate even when the car is moving at slow pace and they are cold.

Best-loved Point:

We’ve seen a lot of open roof models from Ferrari, but the aluminum folding roof here is the best that we’ve seen, and not only does the metal structure has most of the lines of the skimpy aluminum couture, but at the same time it provides both hard-top modification and pleasure of open-air.

Driver’s Complaint:

The actual problem that we have with the 2012 Ferrari 458 Spider is the turn-signal switches mounted on the steering wheels. This is because firstly they are pretty hard to locate and not always goes off after you turn it off. Ferrari has repositioned that switch from the normal column-bestride stalks for freeing the space for the introduction of gear-shift paddles. We got the logic behind that, but at the same time it will make it clear to everyone, that the car with flasher on is a Ferrari.

Bottom Line:

The general perception about the open-top supercars has been and always will be of the cars ideally suited for Hollywood movies. But with the 2011 Ferrari 458 Spider, the Italian automaker is all set to make sure that you don’t sacrifice the driving demeanor so as it feel the winds in your hair. The Spider is an absolute racecar material and has got all the required attributes of it be it the acceleration, handling or overall performance. But sadly, the price is pretty heavy here and will not fit in every budget.