458 Spider seen....

[Mario149]

....on Brompton Rd near HR Owen at 1730 or so, lhd foreign car (plate format didnt look v familiar) with plate ending P2 or P4. To my eye in the half dark it was TDF or Le Mans blue and looked great, no that I'm biased or anything Unfortunately it was being piloted like a tw@t by a guy in a baseball cap (desperately trying not stereotype here) and if that was you behind the wheel you need to pay a little bit more attention, I was the guy on the motorbike with my lady on the back in hi viz who beeped you after you nearly clipped us, not that you noticed I suspect.

Anyway, rant over, good looking car, prefer it to the Italia and screw the 1s round fiorano or whatever. would love to have a go in one to compare, noise was already pretty special already in the tin top

ETA: also saw a grey FF in Knightsbridge (now I see why Shmee's job is so easy ), growing on me slightly but still can't quite get around to its looks

Edited by Mario149 on Saturday 11th February 18:32

[Petrolhead95]

I think I'd rather have the normal 458 than the Spider

[Durzel]

Petrolhead95 said:

I think I'd rather have the normal 458 than the Spider

Isn't the Spider basically the same as the Coupe with the top up, with it being a tin-top?

[6th Gear]

Ferrari dealer, Dubai.

[VMLondon]

Saw this yesterday too, funny as I was thinking regarding the driver - if you are in the newest toy in town, yould you be driving with the roof down, on a FREEEEEEZZZZZZIIIINNNNNGGGGGG day, big black bomber jacket, baseball cap, oh, and your phone in your hand up against your ear!?

Car mustn't have bluetooth!


I thought it was black, and I'm sure the plate is an Italian test plate. Square, white background black text, similar font and varying size letters/numbers. I think it was P4 at the end.

[JazzyO]

Durzel said:

Isn't the Spider basically the same as the Coupe with the top up, with it being a tin-top?

I suggest you take another close look. The differences are quite clear, to my eye at least. The lines of the spider flow less, the panel gaps in the roof are slightly irritating, the loss of the rear quarter window makes the C-pillar look too ungainly and most importantly that beautiful roof flowing into the glass cover over the engine is lost. The spider is also not quite as good to drive, although I will concede the difference really is very small.

I think the spider is the most beautiful convertible on the planet, but the Italia is more beautiful still. 9/10 vs 10/10.

I for one am very, very happy, that I ordered the coupe. Another 2 months of waiting. The agony.


Onno

[traxx]

This picture beside the Mclaren shows some of the rear detail

[JazzyO]

Have a look at these comparable views. Quite clearly the Spider is not the same as the Italia.

I also wanted my car to be two-tone. On the spider, it is hard to see how that works.


Onno

[bertie]

JazzyO said:

Have a look at these comparable views. Quite clearly the Spider is not the same as the Italia.

I also wanted my car to be two-tone. On the spider, it is hard to see how that works.


Onno

Never really considered it but that's got me thinking now...I think I prefer the looks of the Berlinetta, damn!

[AndrewD]

bertie said:

JazzyO said:

Have a look at these comparable views. Quite clearly the Spider is not the same as the Italia.

I also wanted my car to be two-tone. On the spider, it is hard to see how that works.


Onno

Never really considered it but that's got me thinking now...I think I prefer the looks of the Berlinetta, damn!

+1

[crostonian]

There's a hint of Testarossa/288 GTO about the rear window/deck of the the Spider, tips it that way for me!

[JazzyO]

crostonian said:

There's a hint of Testarossa/288 GTO about the rear window/deck of the the Spider, tips it that way for me!

And that is the great thing - you can choose what appeals to you most. But now most people say that there is no point to the coupe anymore, that the Spider is an Italia that can take the roof down, and I sincerely disagree with that.

In the side views, the lack of the quarter window distorts the line.




One other view I don't like so much: Spider from the rear with the roof open. The flowing roofline is now totally gone (logical, but before the spider came out I never realised how much it makes the car).


Onno

[cc8s]

What I don't understand about the styling of the 458 is the wing mirrors:

At least the F430 wing mirrors had a bit of flare to the design:

On the other hand look at the new McLaren's mirrors:

It makes the 458's mirrors look like an afterthought.

[gbrownlow]

As always I prefer coupe roofline and C pillar when the roof is up but the spider when the roof is down.
The 458 spider is the halfway between my F355 GTS and F430 spider and is probably the best compromise for a convertible with an automated roof.

Just need a coupe to complete the set but thinking the model after the 458 might be my next step into the market F480 ?

[JazzyO]

Quite a good point on the wing mirrors.


Onno

[Durzel]

JazzyO said:

Quite a good point on the wing mirrors.


Onno

Thanks for the clarification, I genuinely hadn't fully appreciated the differences that you highlighted. I'm finding myself prefering the coupe too! As said the lines flow more...

[JazzyO]

Durzel said:

Thanks for the clarification, I genuinely hadn't fully appreciated the differences that you highlighted. I'm finding myself prefering the coupe too! As said the lines flow more...

Glad to help! I needed to make a decision on which to buy, so I've taken my time studying the Spider. It also helped that I saw many Spiders and Italias mixed on the production line back in September. Seeing them side by side really highlights the differences.


Onno

[Mario149]

VMLondon said:

if you are in the newest toy in town, yould you be driving with the roof down, on a FREEEEEEZZZZZZIIIINNNNNGGGGGG day

I actually don't have a problem with this bit, my rule of thumb is if it's not raining, the roof goes down. I enjoy the driving experience a whole lot more with nothing over my head and the feeling of not being enclosed and I'm mor then happy to put a few layers on if necessary

VMLondon said:

big black bomber jacket, baseball cap

In principle I don't have a problem with this (but it teeends to be a good indicator of the driver's "specialness", but obviously that's a stereotype), although a baseball cap at night?

VMLondon said:

and your phone in your hand up against your ear!?

This I would absolutely crucify drivers for. In stationary/crawling traffic? Fine. Above 10mph where you can start to do damage? 6 points on you licence and minimum £200 fine. Oh, and your phone confiscated and crushed, preferably underneath the police car's tyre in front of you there and then. And I'm not joking.

If it's important enough for you to be on the phone in a car, it's important enough for you to fork out £20 for a hands free set. Since I've started riding a motorbike, I literally dread seeing someone with a phone against their ear, it means you *literally* have no idea of what their about to do. I've only been riding 3 months and there's no end to the muppetry I've seen from phone wielding drivers

[Mario149]

JazzyO makes some very good points....but I'd still go for the Spider Any nuances concerning lines, panel gaps etc would not feature in my mind when I was banging up and down the gears on a Alpine hoon

But, each to their own, would be v dull if we were all the same!

[tomtom]

As a rule of thumb, anyone wearing any form of headwear while driving is going to be driving badly (see: baseball caps, flat caps). The only exception to the rule is a flying helmet and goggles.