Ferrari 488 Pista Spider prances in Pebble Beach

Ferrari has a special place in my heart. Naming my first-born “Enzo” after the Prancing Horse’s founder is proof positive of that.

Pebble Beach, too, has a special place in this old ticker. I may not be an active golfer now, but I found myself walking the breathtaking fairways and beautiful greens of this legendary golf course in Monterey County, California in 2003 —a year when I was actively playing golf.

But the story does not end there. I was there not for golf. I was there for the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. And 2003 was no less than the 50th anniversary of the iconic automobile event.

Nowhere else in the world will you find the most dazzling array of historic, classic and exotic cars in one place. And the celebrities! A personal highlight was when I found myself admiring a rare Duesenberg side by side with Jay Leno, the talk show host turning to me and nodding his admiration for the classic car — just like two car enthusiasts would.

And now, 25 years later, Ferrari is making waves at Pebble Beach.

Maranello’s new Special Series model, the Ferrari 488 Pista Spider, was unveiled at the 2018 edition of the world-famous Concours d’Elegance.

The 488 Pista Spider is Ferrari’s 50th drop-top model and a US debut was a natural choice given that, ever since the 1950s, North American clients have always been keen connoisseurs of high-performance convertibles.

The new car sets a new benchmark for Ferrari for spider performance with an unprecedented power-to-weight ratio of 1.92 kg/cv — a result made possible by the adoption of the most powerful Ferrari V8 engine ever, which was recently named Best Engine in the world for the third consecutive year at the 2018 International Engine of the Year Awards. 

The 3.9-liter twin-turbo V8 unleashes 720cv at 8,000 rpm and combines that with increasing torque (max. of 770Nm) at all engine speeds for continuous and unending acceleration all the way to redline. The unique engine sound is now even more riveting thanks to the open-top configuration.

The car can accelerate to 100 km/h in 2.85 seconds, with the 0-200 km/h sprint achieved in a mere eight seconds. Top speed is 340 km/h. 

The Ferrari 488 Pista Spider represents the natural development of the defining design of the coupé version. The Ferrari designers’ primary objective was to maintain unaltered the perfect marriage of aerodynamic efficiency, purity of form and racing spirit.

This concept is underlined by the characteristic central livery which runs the whole length of the car, expanding towards the rear where it finishes at the end of the rear wing next to the spoiler. This continual expansion of the stripe recalls the movement of the airflow and exalts the lines of the car.

The use of high-tech materials for the bodywork continues in the interior, with weight being saved by the use of lightweight components. As well as the generous use of carbon-fiber and Alcantara throughout, the carpets have been replaced by patterned aluminum foot plates and the driver-side door handle is now a simple strap.

In terms of engineering, the Ferrari 488 Pista Spider is directly derived from the 488 Pista which encapsulates all the racing experience gathered on world’s circuits with the 488 Challenge and the 488 GTE. As a result, the new Spider offers the highest level yet of technological transfer from the track to a street-legal drop-top car.

The vehicle dynamics honed for this Special Series eight-cylinder convertible deliver a seamless combination of razor-sharp acceleration, braking efficiency, lightning-fast gear shifting, precision steering, grip, stability and superb handling. The result? A completely captivating and unprecedented driving experience. This was achieved thanks partly to the new lateral dynamics control system, the Ferrari Dynamic Enhancer (FDE), which makes on-the-limit driving more intuitive, controllable and predictable.

The car features new diamond-finish 20-inch alloy wheels with a novel 10-spoke star-effect interpretation of Ferrari’s traditional mid-rear engine berlinetta-style rims.  Also available are the optional one-piece carbon-fibre wheels which offer a 20-percent weight reduction over the standard forged alloys.