Ferrari 488 Pista Spider REVEALED as Ferrari takes the top off the ‘Track’ 488

The Ferrari 488 Pista Spider has been revealed at Pebble Beach as Ferrari deliver their 50th drop-top model in its natural habitat.

It’s only six months since the Ferrari 488 Pista was revealed as a hardcore 488 with the most powerful V8 engine in a road car from Ferrari so far. So the arrival of the drop-top 488 Pista Spider at Pebble Beach is a bit of a surprise.

But with the US a key market for Ferrari – and California home to more drop-top Ferraris than anywhere else – it’s entirely logical to stick the new Pista Spider in front of wealthy potential buyers in red corduroys at Pebble Beach.

Beyond the surprise of its arrival, there are no real surprises with the Spider, as it delivers just about everything the coupe does, but with a more intimate relationship with blue skies and the 488’s engine right behind your lugholes with the roof down.

That engine is the same 3.9 litre V8 as the coupe, with 711bhp and the same 0-62mph of 2.85 seconds (although it’s marginally slower to 124mph), although it weighs a bit more unless you start ticking lightweight option boxes.

There’s also some new diamond finish 20″ alloys to set the Pista Spider off and, at least on the debut car, a big stripe going up the bonnet and echoed on the engine cover at the back, and a lack of home comforts with aluminium tread plates instead of carpets and a bit of a strap for closing the doors.

Expect the Ferrari 488 Pista Spider to cost a chunk more than the coupe’s £254k.