Ferrari F430 Convertible (05-09) - Review

Open-roofed versions of Ferrari's compact supercars have been part of the firm's portfolio since the Dino GTS of the late 1960s. The F430 Spider, launched in 2005, a year after the F430 Coupé, is similar in concept to that car but leagues ahead in terms of performance. Like its 360M predecessor, the F430 is an aluminium-bodied mid-engined supercar built with knowledge gleaned from Ferrari's years of F1 racing experience. It's not without its rivals of course, key of which is the Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder. Similar in price and performance, the Lamborghini differs in being four-wheel drive, rather than rear-wheel drive and employing a V10 rather than V8 engine.