The hairstyle-destroying version of Ferrari's 458 Italia has been revealed ahead of its imminent Frankfurt show debut and it ends wide speculation regarding the kind of top it would have.
Like its smaller California sibling, the 458 Spyder ditches the soft top format of its predecessors for a fully retractable hard top, a world-first for mid-rear-engined sports cars.
Although these solid roofs are usually heavier than their fabric counterparts, Ferrari says that making it entirely out of aluminium actually makes it 25kg lighter than a traditional soft top. Other perks include a coupe-like look when the top's up and the fact that it can deploy (into a small space ahead of the engine bay) in just 14 seconds.
Like the Italia, the Spider is thrusted forth by Ferrari's naturally aspirated 4.5-litre 90-degree V8, which puts out 425kW at a heady 9000rpm and 540Nm at 6000rpm. According to Ferrari, the Spyder will dart from 0-100km/h in just 3.4 seconds, the same time it takes the tin-top Italia.
The engine's urge is transferred to the rear wheels via Ferrari's dual-clutch F1 paddle-shift gearbox thorough the advanced E-Diff, which is itself integrated with the F1-Trac traction control and high-performance ABS.
Virtually everything, including the accelerator pedal mapping and the damping of the multilink suspension, have been calibrated to guarantee maximum sportiness.
That's not to say that the comfort factor has been ignored and a thoughtful addition is the large adjustable wind stop, which is said to allow a normal conversation to be had even at speeds exceeding 200km/h.