Ferrari 458 Spider gets hard-top 24 | 08 | 2011

JUST THREE WEEKS before it's officially unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Ferrari has lifted the lid on its new 458 Spider. The Ferrari 458 Spider features a retractable aluminium hard-top roof, believed to be the first on a mid-engined supercar.

When it was released in 2005, the F430 Spider was fitted with a soft-top to keep weight down. But such have been the advances in technology that Ferrari has managed to make the new machine’s roof and its mechanism 25kg lighter than a soft-top’s would be.

See more photos of the all-new Ferrari 458 Spider

And just in case you should have the roof down and be caught out by a shower, you'll be delighted to know it can be raised in 14secs.

Power in the 458 Spider is the same as the coupe, which means a 562bhp, 398lb ft 4.5-litre V8 coupled to a twin-clutch transmission. It'll hit 62mph from standstill in just 3.4secs and accelerate on to 199mph.

And if you're concerned you might struggle to make yourself heard having have a conversation with your passenger, think again. Ferrari says an adjustable electronic 'wind stop' means 'normal' conversation is possible with the roof down … even at speeds of 125mph.

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Craig James