The focus under the Prancing Horse this year at the Geneva Motor Show was clearly on the flagship 599, with its new HGTE package and 599XX track car, but Maranello also brought out the new Scuderia Spider 16M. The limited edition roadster was originally unveiled back in November at the Mugello race track in northern Italy to celebrate Ferrari's 16th Formula One constructors' title that was earned last year, but this was the first look we've had of it up close. Essentially a cross between the 430 Scuderia and the F430 Spider, the 16M is, according to Ferrari, the fastest convertible ever offered by the brand. With less than 500 examples being made, this may be the closest you ever get to seeing one.
This may come as a surprise, but Ferrari is apparently mortal. Although it has denied being affected by the global economic crisis, the Italian supercar maker has announced plans to lay off up to 10 percent of its workforce this week. This comes on the heels of announcing in November that sales had dropped from around 600 units per month to a miniscule 92 sales worldwide. As many as 300 workers could be idled after negotiations with Italy's trade unions. So much for thinking it might be recession-proof. For now the Maranello company has announced an unprecedented 20-day holiday shutdown this year to ward off huge stockpiles of parts and inventory. Even with the new California launching and the recently announced Scuderia Spider 16M on the way, and despite a two-year waiting list for its product globally, distributors around the world are apparently sitting on too much inventory. Sales of the V12 models have reportedly stalled and F430 sales have slowed to a trickle since the California was announced.
We now seriously doubt the company will be able to reach its goal of 10,000 sales by 2010, which Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo had been promising as recently as the Paris Motor Show back in October. For its part, Ferrari is saying that this is traditionally a slow time of year, that F430 sales were naturally affected by the announcement of the 16M and California, and that the extended holiday break has more to do with the calendar than the economy. We simply like the thought that this might one day mean lower prices for Enzo's finest.
If you didn't waste enough time already with Ferrari's online configurator don't worry, that's not the only roadster the Prancing Horse people have unveiled recently. And since most of us won't get within spitting distance of any of the 499 examples of the Scuderia Spider 16M which will be rumbling out the gates of Maranello, Ferrari has given us this dizzying turntable simulator of the Spider's interior.
Unfortunately, like the studio shots, Ferrari's fastest roadster yet is bathed in rather unappetizing florescent light. But with all that carbon fiber, Alcantara and exclusivity, that's not enough to make us want one any less. Follow the jump to check out the 3D view, unless you suffer from vertigo, in which case we'd recommend you take your meds and sit down...
Ferrari is either getting strategic or careless. The company usually keeps details about its upcoming models hush-hush until the vehicle is ready to make its debut, but lately Maranello seems to have more leaks than a pasta strainer. The latest is a screen-cap that seems to confirm the speculated 430 Scuderia Spider. Based on the fixed-roof 430 Scuderia, the roadster version has been speculatively rendered and anticipated to debut at the company's upcoming mega-event at Mugello, the same place where they took the wraps off the FXX Evoluzione last year. The additional weight of an open-top version of the lightweight supercar is expected to be offset by the implementation of the company's new seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. The image above, which seems to confirm the model's imminence, comes from a video of the new Ferrari California that was just unveiled in Maranello and Los Angeles ahead of its debut at the upcoming Paris Motor Show. In the background of the video behind a Ferrari spokesman is a studio photograph of the rumored 430 Scuderia drop-top. We'll just have to wait until November 5 when the Ferrari Challenge heads to Mugello to know for sure.
Lies. Damn lies and speculation. Rumor would be another way to put it, as word of a potential convertible version of the 430 Scuderia spreads across cyberspace. Tentatively referred to as the 430 Scuderia Spider, the roadster would naturally be based on the lightweight, Enzo-rivaling 430 Scuderia supercar, but with the roof chopped off. Various reports have given conflicting information about what kind of roof mechanism would be fitted to the Spideria, including a retractable hard-top similar to that found on the new California, a manual cloth roof to keep weight down, or the same automatic fabric top from the conventional F430 Spider. Or maybe no roof at all, who knows. The wide range of speculation leads us to chalk this up to pure rumor. The removal of structural rigidity and the addition of weight would seem antithetical to the Scuderia's entire raison d'etre. However the prevailing reports suggest that the Spider will also get the California's new seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, be produced in a limited series of 300 and be unveiled on November 5 at the Ferrari Challenge weekend in Mugello... the same event where Ferrari unveiled the FXX Evoluzione last year. Jon Sibal, the skilled supercar illustrator we've come to know and trust, has presented a few renderings of what the 430 Scuderia Spider could look like, which in our eye looks right on the money.
