Ferrari has announced that their mesmerizing 458 Spider will bring you the pleasure of a retractable hard-top for the price of €226,800 if you live somewhere in Europe, with sales to begin next month.
In addition, the US arrival of the drop-top stunner is set for January 2012 (probably meant to coincide with a US debut in Detroit), with prices set at $257,000.
The new 458 Spider joins the 458 Italia, widening the range of Ferrari’s mid-rear engined V8s and offering the same uncompromising technological solutions, handling and performance in a refined open-top configuration. It is equipped with a Ferrari patented, fully retractable hard top, a world first for a sports car with this lay-out.
The 458 Spider is powered by Ferrari’s naturally-aspirated, direct-injection 4.5 litre V8 which was nominated as the 2011 International Engine of the Year for its engineering excellence in terms of driveability, performance, economy and refinement. The power is transferred to the road by Ferrari’s class-leading dual-clutch F1 paddle-shift transmission through the sophisticated E-Diff, itself integrated with the F1-Trac traction control and high-performance ABS for maximum handling dynamics.
If you think that the first ever all-wheel drive Ferrari, that’s also been fitted with a shooting brake body, is not going to stand up in a parking lot, than the tuning world will come to your aid, as German specialist DMC Tuning have played with the FF to produce something extreme – an 888 horsepower monster.
We have to admit that ‘FF’ is not a fitting name for a true gladiator of the high-performance world, so DMC changed it Maximus and gave it better weapons to fight with. The fighter has also gone through extensive dieting to shed 70 kilograms, as DMC has replaced a lot of exterior panels with ones made of carbon fiber. Styling changes include a new extended front bumper with additional air vents and a lip spoiler, which combine to give a more menacing look.
OMG! The winningest team in Formula 1 and the company that best translates that racing technology to its road cars has gone off the reservation and built an all-wheel-drive wagon with a suspension that goes up and down like a Range Rover’s. Not even Nostradamus saw this coming. The Mayans were right — the world is ending in 2012!
Have it your way: Ferrari offers 16 standard colors, 10 colors inspired by the 1960′s, 12 non-standard colors, and 3 three-layer colors. Pair them with polished, matte, or black rims, six caliper colors, and myriad combinations of interior monotone or multi-tone leathers and stitching. An online configurator makes them all available for internet dreamers.
For most people a $50,000 car is well out of reach, while others happily spend double or triple of that amount on a ride. However, even those enthusiasts might not be so keen to whip out their checkbooks when confronted with the price tag of these vehicles featured in a special list compiled by Forbes.
These are the most expensive cars in the world, usually bought by the kind of people who don’t even break a sweat amidst the worst economic crisis. Forbe’s list in not without its flaws as the publication added two vehicles (the Enzo’s successor and the upcoming Pagani Zonda C9) that have yet to be revealed, let alone be priced. Nevertheless, you can check out the complete list of exclusive toys for the real tycoons after the jump.
