Having replaced the previous Roma V8 coupe with the Amalfi - broadly mechanically similar, but with some styling tweaks and mechanical updates - Ferrari is now doing the same thing for the convertible version. Meet the Amalfi Spider.
Pleased to meet you…
Well, you would be, wouldn't you? After all, the Amalfi might be the 'entry level' Ferrari, but it's still packing a 640hp twin-turbo front-mid-mounted V8 engine, so it's hardly what you'd call a poverty model.
As with the Amalfi coupe, the Spider gets styling at the nose which, in part, mimics the 'shovel nose' look already seen in other Ferrari models such as the 12Cilindri and the new 849 Testarossa. It's not a carbon copy of those cars, but you can see the family resemblance.
At the rear, the Amalfi Spider carries over the previous Roma's twin-hump rear deck, under which the fabric convertible roof tucks in just 13.5 seconds, and that at speeds of up to 60km/h.
What's the performance like?
Did you not hear us? 640hp twin-turbo front-mid-mounted V8? I mean, it's not going to be slow, is it? The 3.8-litre engine revs to 7,600rpm and its turbochargers can spin at up to 171,000rpm, pushing the Amalfi to 100km/h in just 3.3 seconds and on to a top speed of 320km/h. Entry level indeed…
Compared to the previous Roma Spider, this time around the V8 gets a new engine management system shared with the likes of the 296 GTB and the 12 Cilindri, as well as lighter camshafts (trimmed by 1.3kg) and a redesigned engine block that also shaves a kilo off the previous weight. This new engine also runs a lower-viscosity oil, meaning it all warms up much more quickly, while the eight-speed dual-clutch paddle-shift gearbox now changes gears faster, as well as more smoothly.
And the handling?
The Amalfi Spider gets a clever brake-by-wire system that allows an individual wheel brake to step in much more quickly to help when the car's stability limits are exceeded. This ABS Evo system, developed first for the Purosangue, is said to help keep the Amalfi on the straight and narrow even in the worst conditions. All of which is helped by the Side Slip Control (SSC) 6.1 system, which monitors every aspect of the car's handling and can step in to either help you straighten it all up, or to help you keep a nicely judged powerslide going…
The ever-present Manettino driving mode system - still with its gloriously mechanical steering wheel switch - offers you five modes: 'Wet', 'Comfort', 'Sport', 'Race', 'ESC-Off'; all of which tweak and twiddle with the settings of the traction control, suspension dampers, and the electronic differential. There's also an active rear spoiler that can switch between three modes - Low Drag or LD, Medium Downforce or MD, and High Downforce or HD - and Ferrari hasn't skimped on the safety systems either, including such niceties as blind spot detection, lane keep assist, and automatic high beam headlights.
What's the interior like?
Well, basically, it's the interior from the Amalfi coupe, just open to the elements. There are seats in the back, but they're very, very small and are really just somewhere nice to put your coat. There's the same high centre console that divides the cockpit in two, and the same gorgeous leather-covered seats, along with the neat gear selector that mimics the look of Ferrari's classic (and much-missed) open gate manual gearshift.
Of course, the Amalfi Spider's big difference is the roof, which comes in four different colours, and which folds away so neatly that it's only 220mm thick when packed away, meaning that you still have half-decent boot space - 172 litres with the roof open, and 255 litres when the roof is closed.
The Amalfi Spider also includes a neat wind deflector behind the back seats, which can be raised or lowered at the touch of a button and which Ferrari claims creates "a stable bubble of comfort around the passengers, reducing turbulence and noise.”
Oh, and you can have the Amalfi Spider in a new colour - Rosso Tramonto, a metallic orange which is said to be inspired by the colours of the Amalfi coast.
