New Ferrari Amalfi Spider is a 200mph drop-top to rival Aston Martin’s Vantage Roadster
Less than a year since the launch of the coupe, Ferrari has uncovered the drop-top Amalfi Spider. Sam Jenkins has been to Italy for a first look
With a name inspired by a sun-soaked coastal town, it was only a matter of time before Maranello's Roma replacement lost its roof. This is the Ferrari Amalfi Spider, a new 600bhp+ drop-top '2+' model to sit right in line with the likes of Aston Martin's Vantage Roadster and the Mercedes-AMG SL63 when it hits the market later this year.
Convertible cars are often seen as softer alternatives to their hard-top counterparts, but Ferrari’s tried its very best to make sure that’s not the case here. Under the Amalfi Spider’s long, sculpted bonnet is the exact same front-mid-mounted twin-turbo F154 V8 as in the coupe, sending 631bhp to the rear wheels via an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. That power figure might be down on the 656bhp of the drop-top Vantage, but it’s a 19bhp uplift over the Roma Spider to give it a 3.3sec 0-62mph time and 199mph top speed – impressively, that’s an exact match for the coupe.
> Ferrari Amalfi review – Maranello’s 631bhp Aston Martin Vantage rival
This increase in power over the Roma Spider comes from not a simple ECU tune, but the use of new hardware such as fettled lightweight camshafts and a redesigned block – tweaks to boost management and the use of lower viscosity oil also contribute. To make the most of this output, the Amalfi Spider comes with 285-section rear tyres (245-section front), with buyers able to choose from a choice of Pirelli, Goodyear or Bridgestone rubber from the factory.
Retaining the same on-paper performance as the coupe is great, but whether or not dynamics have taken a hit is something we’ll have to determine with a drive. As you’d expect though, measures have been taken to strengthen the Spider’s chassis and limit rigidity losses compared to the coupe, with a bolstered windscreen surround one of many upgrades. Extra weight is of course the drawback though, with these measures and the folding soft top roof adding 86kg to its dry weight, bringing the total to 1556kg – the Aston Martin Vantage Roadster gained less than 60kg compared to the coupe.
That roof mechanism is a familiar one, as the hardware is borrowed from the Roma Spider we know. It’s a clever ‘Z-fold’ system that condenses the roof into a neat package just 220mm thick when retracted, key to maintaining a very useable boot capacity. There’s 255 litres of storage capacity with the roof up, only 18 litres less than the coupe, with this dropping to 172 litres with it down.
Like the Roma Spider, it takes precisely 13.5 seconds for the roof mechanism to unfurl, and while this isn’t slow, it does take more than twice as long as the class-leading Vantage Roadster to do the same. You can travel faster in the Ferrari wile dropping the top though, at up to 37mph – 6mph quicker than the Aston, if that matters to you.
Ferrari says the five-layer fabric soft-top used in the Amalfi Spider provides acoustic and thermal insulation ‘comparable’ to that of a hardtop equivalent, and it also opens new doors for customisation. Buyers can choose from six roof colours: four in what Ferrari calls ‘tailor made’ fabric and two of the ‘technical’ kind which incorporate contrasting threads to create a captivating sheen. Contrast stitching is also an option should you want it, and this same roof material can even be applied to the seat backs, door cards and centre console.
Look closely and you’ll see that the fabric extends further back onto the rear deck than before, applying fabric to a trim element that came in gloss black on the Roma – when the roof is up, it’s designed to retain the coupe’s silhouette. From my time with the car, I can confirm that Manzoni and his team have done well in this regard. The Amalfi Spider has a more aggressive, muscular stance than its predecessor, with its minimalist lighting units only contributing to this.
This might be a convertible variant, but it still comes with the same suite of bewildering acronyms we’ve come to expect from a modern-day Ferrari. The Amalfi Spider comes equipped with clever systems like Side Slip Control 6.1, F1-TCS and ABS Evo which should, in theory, help it retain some of the dynamic prowess of the coupe. The brake-by-wire system and even active aerodynamics are all carried across too, with the latter including an active wing with three angles of attack, generating 110kg more downforce at 155mph in its highest.
Inside it’s the same story as the coupe, with two distinct driver and passenger zones, simple, but angular door cards, and a few neat touches that make this feel far from the 'entry-point' Ferrari it is. The gear selector toggles are mounted to a cold-touch trim piece that's milled from a single piece of aluminium, and the steering wheel comes with the same new physical controls and anodised aluminium start/stop button we've seen return to other models in the range.
The Ferrari Amalfi Spider will hit the road later this year and while we’ll have to wait until then to find out how it drives, this first look suggests the Aston Martin Vantage Roadster could well have a challenge on its hands.
Ferrari Amalfi Spider specs
| Engine | 3.8-litre twin-turbocharged F154 V8, 7600rpm redline |
| Power | 631bhp @ 7500rpm |
| Torque | 561lb ft |
| Weight | 1556kg dry weight (86kg more than coupe) |
| Top speed | 199mph |
| Price | >£205k |
