We take pride in helping you find the car of your dreams. Not only does that involve news and reviews, we also analyze data from our dealers to spot trends in the industry. Since we’ve been doing this since April of ’85, we’ve developed proprietary methods for making sense of leads and sales. After crunching the numbers for the 1st half of 2019, it is clearly evident that the Ferrari 488 Spider should be part of your collection.
Armed with the numbers, the next step is to determine why this one model outshines the competition. Much like reverse-engineering, we started to investigate the finer details of the car. When it was launched in early 2017, it was clearly evident that it was not a refreshed version of the 360, F430, 458 series. Starting with a clean slate, the 488 Spider is 22 lbs lighter than the car it replaced. This is impressive because the additional weight added by the turbos, intercoolers, wastegates, and heat shielding. Adding two turbos forced the engineers to turn in late hours to get it right.
Because their main Italian competitor releases innovative aerodynamics, Ferrari took inspiration from above. The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was and is the fastest aircraft ever built. It did this by routing air around the jet engine as speed increased. The air was heated, cooling the engine, and injected into the afterburner. This calmed turbulence in the exhaust which allowed the plane to be very efficient at high speeds. Check out the bypass ducts below, each engine had six of them.
You might look at the side intakes of the 488 Spider and not think twice, but they have a horizontal partition. The small upper ducts feed the turbochargers, and the large lower ducts are bypass tubes. They are carefully sculpted to allow cool air to be heated by the powertrain and exhausted inboard of the taillights. The same principle as the Blackbird, as this hot & high-pressure air is forced into the turbulent vacuum generated by the car. And like the SR-71, it works exponentially better as your speed increases.
Vortex generators under the floor feed into a giant rear diffuser. It forces this boundary layer to mix with the exhaust, again working to disconnect turbulence from the rear bumper. Even the door handles were sculpted to reduce drag. Therefore, this is the first Ferrari convertible to offer 22 mpg on the highway. The tank holds 22.7 gallons, so you are also rewarded with a (highway) range of 499.4 miles if driven in a conservative manner. Therein lies the temptation.
Under your right foot are 660 horsepower and 560 lb-ft of torque. At your command is a well-insulated hardtop. It can disappear in 14 seconds. When it is out of sight, you hear the intakes and turbos work to generate the perfect exhaust note. 0-60 takes less than 3 seconds, and 124 mph arrives in 8.3 ticks. Don’t be distracted by the complex mechanical parts, Ferrari includes 7 years of complimentary maintenance. The car glides over broken pavement thanks to the 3rd generation of GM’s magnetic ride control, the best suspension on the market.
While new Ferrari coupes are on the horizon, the F8 Tributo and the SF90 Stradale would look ungainly as a drop-top. Efficiency, Power, and Style are how the 488 Spider is staying on top, so we want you to experience it also. Click the link below to find one near you, and take it for a spin. Numbers don’t lie, so tell us what you think of this masterpiece in the comments below.
