Ferrari Amalfi Spider Opens the Door to Coastal Drives with Serious Muscle

Ferrari has just unveiled its new convertible, the Amalfi Spider, and it begs to be driven with the top down. This open-top version is built on the Amalfi coupe, with engineers keeping the overall form consistent from the beltline down, thus the long hood and smooth contours remained mostly unchanged. Rosso Tramonto, a new paint color in the portfolio, has a gorgeous orange hue to it, like the sun setting over the Italian shore.

The design was all about airflow, as engineers molded the body with extreme care to ensure that air flowed over and around the car perfectly. That rear wing has three settings and can provide up to 243 pounds of extra traction when driving at highway speeds. Front air intakes and rear diffusers work together to keep the vehicle stable without sticking your nose out in the wind. You can choose from six different fabric colors for the roof, including this beautiful dark blue one called Tecnico Ottanio, and you can even add some contrast stitching to make it more personal. The roof folds up into a compact little package behind the seats, measuring eight point seven inches tall, and it does so at speeds of up to 37 mph.

Dropping the top takes exactly 13.5 seconds, and the five-layer fabric is substantial, so there isn’t much wind noise or heat flowing in when the roof is down. In reality, it performs similarly to a solid roof. You can even deploy a little wind deflector on the back seat with the press of a button, which remains effective up to 106 mph. Trunk capacity is also surprisingly good, nine cubic feet with the roof up and six when it’s stowed, which is still enough to fit some weekend bags or a couple of helmets.

The power comes from a 3.9-liter twin-turbocharged V8 that delivers 631 horsepower and 561 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels via an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. That means you can accelerate from 0 to 62 in 3.3 seconds and reach 124 mph in 9.4 seconds. Maximum speed is 199 miles per hour. The entire vehicle weighs 3,430 pounds dry, which is 190 pounds more than the coupe, but it handles fairly well, with 48% of the weight up front and the rest in the back.

Drivers get the same revised cabin as the coupe, with all of the physical controls and dials on the steering wheel, replacing the touch sensitive pads with something more substantial. You get a 15.6-inch digital cluster straight front, but there’s also a 10.25-inch central screen for navigation and media, as well as an 8.8-inch display in front of the passenger that shows real-time engine data and g-forces. When she’s ready to go, the metal start button glows red, and you can connect Apple CarPlay or Android Auto wirelessly as well. Those tiny rear seats are useful for storing gear or taking the kids on a short journey, but the entire cockpit wraps around the front two occupants, giving them a focused sense, as if the car is all about them.

The electronics are cutting-edge, as the brake-by-wire system provides a very precise pedal feel, and the latest iteration of Side Slip Control modifies grip in real time. You have five distinct driving modes to pick from on the steering wheel, ranging from Wet to Race, and each one adjusts the throttle responsiveness and suspension firmness via those fancy magnetorheological dampers. Then there are the key safety features, such adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance, which are all included, but you can also add some extras, like as a 360-degree video system.

Ferrari is manufacturing the Amalfi Spider at its Maranello plant, and it will hit the road later this year as a 2027 model. The coupe started at a quarter of a million dollars, so you can probably expect to pay a little more for the Spider, especially if you start clicking the options box, possibly in the low $300,000s.
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