Drop-top Gorgeous: Ferrari 458 Spider

The Ferrari 458 Italia has it all going for it, Performance Car of the Year awards from around the world, modern yet classy design and accolades of being the best sportscar ever made. But the house of the prancing horse does not seem satisfied with all that, since it must now unleash this on  unsuspecting mortals such as us. That’s what happens when the Italians decide to blow their top, quite literally.

The Ferrari 458 Spider which will make its debut in less than a month’s time at the Frankfurt Motor Show, will carry on the marque’s glorious convertible sportscar tradition, albeit with a critical change. While every mid-engined Ferrari to date has been a soft top, Ferrari boffins this time around have decided to create some magic space near the engine, enough to accommodate a full size, unfoldable hard top. In fact, this could be the first  sportscar on the planet to attempt something this outrageous, and get away with it, with such panache.

The 458 Spider is powered by Ferrari’s glorious sounding, naturally-aspirated, direct-injection 4.5-litre V8, which was nominated as the 2011 International Engine of the Year for its engineering excellence in terms of driveability, performance, economy and refinement. Couple that with its acclaimed handling and the wind in your hair, and we’re drooling already.

2011 Frankfurt Motor Show: Hot launches & brilliant concepts, click here