Ferrari has nothing for the common cold, but if you suffer worries, boredom, grouchiness, or that debilitating ennui that settles in on Sunday afternoons around four o’clock, it has a hot new pill, and you won’t need to call the doctor in the morning.
One button pushed for 20 seconds drops the top of the new Ferrari F430 Spider into its lascivious splash of aluminum bodywork. Yes, just 20 seconds to a new and brighter you! Need more? Now try the button on the steering wheel, the one that says “Start.” Suddenly, you hear that sonorous purrrrrr, fast, fat, and deep, like a Bengal tiger getting its tummy scratched. That’s a 483-hp, 4.3-liter V-8 tugging on your leash, so you’d better want to run.
First gear stretches out to 8500 rpm, howling to make your shanks shake. Second gear should get you 60 mph in about 3.6 seconds and a misdemeanor conviction in four flat. Keep the hammer down through third, fourth, and fifth, and sixth will burn your scalp clean off at 186 mph, or so Ferrari claims.
For America, the wraps come off the spider this month. Or maybe in July. With Ferrari, the banal details of when and for how much tend to be a little hazy. The spider—yes, Ferrari retains the arachnid spelling used for previous ragtop models—will get here when it gets here. Likewise, its prices were unknown at press time. When announced, they should be six or seven percent higher than the outgoing 360 Spider’s, Ferrari officials say. Figure on writing a check for about $193,000 for the six-speed manual GT or about $206,000 for the paddle-shifted F1. Options will include carbon-ceramic brakes, which cost $15,364 on the coupe, and retro Daytona seats, currently $2579 on the coupe.