Ferrari Scuderia Spider 16M (2009) CAR review

This is the Ferrari F430’s swansong, the Scuderia Spider 16M. Just 499 will be produced to celebrate Ferrari’s 16 Formula One constructors’ championships, hence the 16M bit in the name. Its underpinnings are familiar from the Ferrari Scuderia coupé we first drove in 2007, but the roof’s come down and the price has gone up – by around £30k to £198,524.

Ferrari certainly knows how to make money!

It does. At £171k, the Scuderia coupe was £36k more expensive than the F430 coupe, yet the 16M is £55k more expensive than the F430 Spider. However, every 16M is already sold. Seems that in a tough economic climate, the limited edition route has been a clever way of upping profit margins and ensuring strong demand.

Hasn’t Ferrari just released a V8 convertible?

Yes, we drove the California last year, but the Scuderia is a very different beast. The engine’s behind the driver for a start, the roof is fabric (not folding metal) and it’s much, much more hardcore. The basics are essentially the same as the Scuderia coupe, so the 4.3-litre V8 is lightly tweaked for another 20bhp and 4lb ft; the aero is fettled; the interior revamped; the bumpers and sideskirts now produced from lightweight RTM; and there are titanium springs and lighter weight ZF dampers.

So, while the Spider is inevitably heavier than the coupe (by 90kg), it is a handy 80kg lighter than the F430 drop-top it’s based on.  Standard equipment also includes carbon ceramic brakes and a better version of the F1-derived six-speed clutchless manual that are offered as options on the F430.

So it’s a bit raucous, then?

Yes and no. Part of the brilliance of either Scuderia is the way they marry hardcore thrills with daily driver usability. The suspension is adjustable, but for road use you need no more than the softest setting – it’s compliant, never crashy, and yet you couldn’t wish for more body control. The interior, too, manages to be both race-car special (lightweight seats, no carpets, simple carbon door cards) without feeling at all uncomfortable or spare.

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