Ferrari announces F8 Spider

Following its leak on Friday, Maranello has officially unveiled its new mid-engine convertible

Coupes are all well and good, but when most people picture a Ferrari, they see a car with its roof down, right? The Maranello marque clearly recognises its customers' desire for drop-top driving, at least, having wasted no time in following up the recently-launched F8 Tributo with this, the F8 Spider.

Not F8 Tributo Spider, note, because though the convertible is powered by the same Pista-derived V8, outputting the same 720hp and 568lb ft, the Coupe stands alone as the performance-focussed homage to that award-winning powerplant.

Instead, its maker is keen to point out that while the Spider is less extreme than an equivalent Pista, it weighs just 20kg more (and 20kg less than the 488 Spider it replaces). It is 10 per cent more aerodynamically efficient, too, and the addition of the Tributo's new Ferrari Dynamic Enhancer Plus and Side Slip Angle Control 6.1 ought to make it just as fun to drive. The roof, in case you were wondering, is of the Retractible Hard Top variety, and can be opened or closed in just 14 seconds at speeds of up to 30mph.

It is around this lid that Ferrari says the lines of the car were crafted, while taking inspiration from other Maranello marvels through the years. The front end - including the new, more compact, LED headlights - has been redesigned to better highlight its performance-enhancing S-Duct, while the larger rear spoiler now wraps around the tail lights, "visually lowering the car's centre of gravity". A new "manta-like" engine cover completes the transformation, with a central spine that traces the airflow from the rear screen through to the spoiler.

At the end of the day though, it's the presence of that spine-tingling V8 that will remain the car's greatest selling point. Thanks to its titanium con-rods, crankshaft and flywheel it boasts a 17 per cent reduction in inertia versus the 488 Spider, while Inconel exhaust manifolds derived from the 488 Challenge save 9.7kg in mass on their own. A "Wall Effect" rev limiter allows drivers to slam right into that 8,000rpm red line, while an "extensively modified" exhaust layout is said to produce a superior timbre unique to the Spider. And in just 14 seconds you can now get closer to it than ever before.