Monday Drool – The Nero Over Nero Ferrari 488 Spider

I remember reading an article of a father and son watching black and white footage of a Ferrari racing round a race track. The son asked the father what colour the Ferrari was, to which the father replied “Blood red son, blood red”. But that was then, and this is now, with the latest and greatest V8 being a Ferrari 488 Spider.

Note: SupercarTribe.com is not affiliated with Ferrari SPA.

Things have moved on a lot over the years, particularly when it comes to choosing the colour of a Ferrari. Rosso Corsa with Crema leather was the default choice, and anything else just wasn’t Ferrari enough. I was one of those stereotypical teenagers with a Testarossa on the wall, and you can be sure that the car was Rosso Corsa. In fact, my first Ferrari was Rosso, as was my second. If you wanted a Ferrari, then there was only one choice.

We wrote an Article a few weeks back asking, does a Ferrari need to be red? We still associate the colour with Ferrari, but the reality is that “resale red” is no longer a reality. The majority of Ferraris made today are not red, and I have been fortunate enough to see this myself, many times on the Ferrari production line. I’m not sure if the expanded colour pallet came first, or the demand from the customers, but whether it was the chicken or the egg is irrelevant. Customers are loving the non-red cars.

The Ferrari 488 Spider

The car we selected for Drool today is from one of our official Ferrari Dealers in our Buy section. Stratstone Ferrari recently bought forward for sale a beautiful Ferrari 488 Spider.

The 488 Spider is the latest in a long line of mid-engined V8, open top cars. This of course started with the 308 and 328 GTS cars, which were actually Targas as opposed to full convertibles. The first full Spider was introduced with the Ferrari 348 back in 1993. Hard to believe that car is now a quarter of a century old.

They recognised that customers wanted a sun soaking version, that would give the thrills of the coupe with only a little compromise. However, things have since moved on significantly where the Ferrari 488 Spider compromises nothing over the Coupe, in terms of performance. The roof is no longer soft, so it’s perfect for all weathers, and also means that would be thieves are kept at bay.

We recently interviewed a Ferrari owner for the Podcast (EP13), who also spoke about another benefit that the Spider has over the GTB. He has had both and mentioned that the ability to drop the rear window on the Spider means that you can bring in all that engine noise into the car. All that without having to drop the roof. Now that is a HUGE bonus, and probably overlooked by many. Except the owners of course.

So today we have perhaps one of the most perfect cars on the market today. A Non-Red, 105 mile, Ferrari 488 Spider with no hint of Rosso anywhere. But unlike most Nero on Nero cars, there is nothing gangster about this one, as it has the perfect amount of yellow thanks to the callipers and interior. These are the options details that Stratstone supplied:

Carbon Fibre Driver Zone Steering Wheel with LEDs
Carbon Fibre Dashboard Inserts
Carbon Fibre Central Bridge
20″ Alloy Wheels
Electric Seats
Front & Rear Parking Sensors
Fog Lamps
Brake Calipers in Yellow
Scuderia Ferrari Shields
Yellow Rev Counter
Floor Mats
Navtrak System
Smoker Package
Satellite Navigation
Bluetooth Phone Integration
Cruise Control
iPod/MP3 Connectivity
7SP F1 Paddleshift Gearbox
Rear Parking Camera
Carbon Fibre Kick Plate

I’ve seen so many cars over the years that try too hard. Original owners have chosen colours that just just want attention, but doesn’t necessarily warrant it. This one doesn’t need to try hard, as the spec is near on perfect. If you are not looking for Red of course!