First up was the Ferrari 360 Modena coupe; now there is the 360 Spider. Conceived and designed simultaneously, the two-seat open-top Spider benefits from this integrated philosophy, said Technical Director Ing. Harald J. Wester: "Of course, it is possible just to cut off the roof of a design and have a fine Spider - but that is not the way we do it. We decided from the earliest stage of the 360 project that we would offer both a coupe and an open car that would not only maintain the styling signature of the coupe but integrate some styling characteristics of past Ferrari Spiders."
The new Spider is Ferrari's 20th road-going convertible. Mechanically similar to the 3.6-L V8 360 Berlinetta (coupe), a challenge for designers was to find space for a power-assisted folding roof stowage area between the cockpit and the mid-mounted power unit. "The idea was to develop a complete module containing everything necessary for folding roof operation to fit in a precisely defined space," said Wester. "It includes soft-top bay, roll-bar cover, and the folding soft top itself." The module was designed in collaboration with supplier CTS of Stuttgart. It is delivered to the production line and installed as one unit, held in place by eight screws and one connector. The module embraces the car's roll bars. About 80% of the kinematics are in cast aluminum, with transverse bars in steel. The back light is plastic. Seven hydraulic actuators operate the roof, which has a design raise and lower time of about 20 s. The module has a mass of 85 kg (187 lb). Overall, the Spider is about 60 kg (132 lb) heavier than the Berlinetta coupe.
The Spider's spaceframe body structure is virtually the same as that of the coupe, but with some reinforcement. The windshield frame contains a roll bar of high-strength steel welded to the spaceframe and clad in aluminum. Ferrari has put the accent on safety with the 360 Spider, Wester claiming that U.S. safety standards for a closed car were applied. The car's torsional stiffness is about 8500 N¥m/¡ (6270 lb¥ft/¡) with flexural stiffness about half that figure.
Cockpit ergonomics are unchanged from those of the coupe. There is a choice of transmissions, including an electrohydraulically paddle-operated gearshift system a la Formula One cars. It takes a little time to get used to the operation, and the driver needs to get to know the system's strategy to achieve smooth shifts both up and down. Fully automatic operation is by a push-button.
Aerodynamic efficiency is crucial for such a fast car; top speed is 290 km/h (180 mph), about 5 km/h (3 mph) less than the coupe. Wester says the secret of efficient aerodynamics for high-performance cars is "more the floor than the body." Design of the 360's aerodynamically clean underfloor with two venturis is transferred from F1 experience. The Cd is 0.36 for the Spider, 0.33 for the coupe. About 95% of the coupe's 180-kg (396-lb) downforce at 290 km/h (180 mph) is maintained by the Spider.
Extruded aluminum with cast nodes is used for the structural sections of the Spider's chassis. They are made in the same foundry as components for the company's F1 cars. As with the coupe, the Spider's V8 engine can be seen from the exterior through a glass inspection cover. It produces 298 kW (400 hp) at 8500 rpm, with maximum torque of 373 N¥m (275 lb¥ft) at 4750 rpm. Four overhead camshafts operate five valves per cylinder, and variable-length inlet tracts are used.
Stuart Birch
AEI October 2000
Ferrari Rossa
To mark its 70th anniversary, coachbuilder Pininfarina unveiled the Ferrari-based Rossa "research concept" at the Turin Motor Show. Its styling is described as reflecting the competition Spider Ferraris of the 1950s, and it has echoes of the 1989 Mythos concept car. Based on the Ferrari 550 Maranello, the Rossa incorporates a video system that, according to Pininfarina, will allow open car drives to be relived in the depths of winter when the car is left in the garage! Design features include a "fin" that rises from the sill to frame the rear of the front wheel; it is like a cut-away fender and is said to be a contemporary interpretation of a key design feature of the 1958 Testa Rossa.
Pininfarina's Ferrari Rossa
Ferrari Rossa Interior
Stuart Birch
AEI October 2000 |
