Cause Célèbre

IT SEEMS SAFE to assume this is the quickest open Ferrari this side of the single seaters.

FERRARI is one of the few automakers on planet earth to have any news worth celebrating these days, but indeed the prancing horse posted a 54-million-euro profit for the first quarter of 2009, its new entry-level California has a two-year waiting list, and the scuderia won its 16th Formula 1 constructor’s championship in 2008. To celebrate, Ferrari’s flashing the world with a topless version of the 430 Scuderia dubbed 16M and festooned with badges to remind the generations to come of Scuderia Ferrari’s auspicious racing record. Of course, in Italy, the number after 16 is unlucky, and so far the 2009 F1 season has been less auspicious, but for now let’s bust out the prosecco and toast better days.

Functionally, the 16M is a Scuderiafied F430 Spider. It gets the same low-backpressure, higher-compression (11.9:1 versus 11.3:1) V-8 good for 503 horses and 347 pound-feet (versus the F430’s 483/343) bolted to the same F1-Superfast2 transmission capable of shifting in 60 milliseconds with torque interruption of about 40 milliseconds. The chassis setup is also nearly identical from the standard carbonceramic brakes (15.6 inch front, squeezed by six-piston calipers, 13.7-inch rear with four-piston calipers), wider 19-inch tires on unique rims (including an optional new design for the Spider), harder and lower springs, and the race-tuned-adjustable damping, F1 Trac, and E-Diff systems. The ability to engage the most aggressive driving modes on the manettino switch while setting the suspension to its softer setting to help keep the tires pressed to the pavement on bumpy stretches is probably even more useful in the Spider.

The biggest tuning difference between the Scuderia coupe and Spider involve the engine note, which was revised to eliminate some uncomfortable frequencies by fitting unique intake manifold resonators (the torque curve is unchanged). Mass increases by 199 pounds, raising its weight-to-power ratio from 5.9 to 6.3 pounds per horsepower, but it’s still about 175 pounds lighter than the F430 Spider. Torsional rigidity drops some 30 percent relative to the roofed version, though the Scuderia mods improve the F430 Spider’s torsional strength marginally. While we’re speaking in relative terms, we may as well disclose that, at $313,350, the 16M costs $25,382 more than the Scuderia coupe and $78,553 more than an F430 Spider. That sounds pretty darned steep for a V-8 Ferrari, but then this promises to be history’s quickest flip-top Ferrari road car.

We set out to prove that claim, but on the day of our drive, the famous Fiorano circuit was occupied, and the airstrip we used to test the coupe was not available. So we had to resort to a less optimal stretch of flat and deserted asphalt that looked smooth and seemed to have decent grip. We lined up for the launch, put a foot on the brake, toggled CST off, pressed the LC button, saw the “L” flashing in the gear-number display, revved to 4000 rpm, released the brake and modulated the throttle for what felt like a too-low-speed, near bogging launch, followed by blistering acceleration through four gears’ worth of shrieking g-sled acceleration that may have been audible at the Lambo factory 20 miles away in Sant’Agata Bolognese. After considerable cooling down and a few nice quiet braking tests, it was time for another try, this time with a few more revs on the dial. Too much wheelspin, too abrupt a corrective lift. We made two more attempts, each from slightly different starting points and neither felt quite ideal, but as the first of several waves of journalists to drive this brand new 16M, we’d been asked to limit our testing to four launch-control starts.

Our best results: 3.8 seconds to 60 mph, 11.8 at 122.7 mph in the quarter. That’s just ahead of the F430 Spider, but six or seven tenths and almost four mph off the coupe’s time. Overlaying the acceleration curves proves the difference is almost entirely before 20 mph. The 45-65-mph passing times are within two tenths. Braking was off just a bit too, at 96 feet from 60 mph versus 93 and 282 from 100, versus 255. Some of that difference will be accountable to the

2010 FERRARI 599 GTB FIORANO HANDLING GTE

IT’S HARD to imagine what prompted Ferrari to develop a “handling package” for its fl agship GT, the 599 GTB Fiorano, as we can’t recall ever hearing, reading, or publishing any complaints about the original chassis setup. Maybe a Lotus cut Mr. Montezemolo off in traffi c during his commute to the offi ce. Whatever the impetus, the resulting Handling GranTurismo Evoluzione setup is impressive.

Chassis upgrades include stiffer springs (by 17/15 percent front/ rear) that lower the car 10 mm, a stiffer rear anti-roll bar (25 mm from 23.5), a fi rmer and quickerresponding calibration of the magnetorheological shocks, a halfdegree front-camber increase, and new compound and construction of the identically sized Pirelli PZero tires, which mount to three-piece composite wheels with forged centers. The front wheels are a halfinch wider to improve the contact patch. Ferrari claims these changes increase roll stiffness by 19 percent, boost lateral grip by eight percent, and cut the amount of steering input required to achieve 0.80 g by 20 percent, all of which shaves 0.6 second off the lap time on its namesake track. Engine output is unchanged, though the exhaust is retuned to feature lower frequencies, and the throttle mapping is tied to torque output rather than rpm.

These improvements are as impossible to argue with as they are to detect on the twisty roads outside Maranello, with no base model on hand for comparison. The increased front-end grip and body control enable later braking and sharper turn-in that, along with the more urgent sounding exhaust serve to mask the car’s porcine two-tonnage better than God’s own girdle and a well-cut black dress. The sublime HGTE seats offer adjustable bolsters on the backrest and seat cushion for tailormade lateral support.

Complaints? The brakes allow too much pedal travel before biting, the exhaust is a tad boomy around 3000 rpm, and the spectacular handling exacts a noticeable ride penalty.

The package also exacts a $30,095 upcharge, but that includes the full carbon-fi ber interior kit, a choice of unique grilles (larger eggcrate or mesh), a revised rear diffuser in matte black, new tailpipes, and more. Ferrari expects 40 percent of buyers to pop for the HGTE. If they live near roads like those above Maranello, they’ll get their money’s worth.

FERRARI 599 GTB FIORANO HANDLING GTE

BASE PRICE $356,825 VEHICLE LAYOUT Front-engine, RWD, 2-pass, 2-door, coupe

ENGINE 6.0L/612-hp/448-lb-ft DOHC 48-valve V-12

TRANSMISSION 6-speed auto-clutch manual CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST) 4000 lb (mfr) WHEELBASE 108.3 in LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 183.7 x 77.2 x 52.6 in 0-60 MPH 3.3 sec (MT est) 1.8-MILE ROAD COURSE LAP 85.9 sec EPA CITY/HWY FUEL ECON 11/15 mpg CO2 EMISSIONS 1.55 lb/mile (est) ON SALE IN U.S. Currenly

extra weight and some possibly to green (900-mile) hardware—but not much. The factory quotes a Fiorano lap time just 1.5 seconds slower than the coupe’s. Given that, it seems safe to assume this is indeed the quickest open Ferrari this side of the company’s perennially triumphant singleseaters.

If it doesn’t actually run quite as quick as the Scud coupe, it feels much quicker top down, the same way sledding down a hill felt faster and more exhilarating than riding down it cooped up in your mom’s car. Attack a set of switchbacks alfresco and, while your fingers are receiving abundant information from the well-weighted helm, your ears receive corroborating evidence about exactly which tires are scuffing or squealing as a result of cornering forces or intervention from the antilock, E-Diff, or CST systems. Depending on how much runoff is available in the corners, a flick of the manettino switch can dial the amount of allowable oversteer up or down quite reliably from zero slip angle in Normal mode, to Formula-Drift in Race mode. Sport seems ideal for narrow Italian back roads.

In between the turns, there’s that inimitable flat-plane-crank V-8 wail bouncing off the retaining walls and goading you to charge deeper into each corner, testing the seemingly infinite depth of the carbon-ceramic discs’ braking power. They’re incapable of vibration-inducing warpage and incredibly resistant to fade. In 120 miles of driving over roads of varying quality, no bump or dip ever elicited a shake or shimmy of chassis flex, but the violence of a full-throttle Racemode upshift sends a shudder through the structure that I don’t recall feeling on the same roads in the coupe. One can imagine more exciting ways of getting from point A to point B while enjoying the sun and wind—a flying-squirrel suit, a jet pack, a rocket luge—but it’s hard to think of an open four-wheeler that’s this exciting to drive and still offers full weather protection, A/C, and a decent sound system (put your pencils down, Ariel Atom buffs). That’s ample cause for celebration even in a down year. ■ FACTORY quotes a Fiorano lap time just 1.5 sec slower than the coupe's.

2010 FERRARI 16M SCUDERIA SPIDER

BASE PRICE $313,350 PRICE AS TESTED $313,350 VEHICLE LAYOUT Mid-engine, RWD, 2-pass, 2-door, convertible

ENGINE 4.3L/503-hp /347-lb-ft DOHC 32-valve V-8

TRANSMISSION 6-speed auto-clutch manual CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST) 3175 lb (43/57%) WHEELBASE 102.4 in LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 177.6 x 75.7 x 47.9 in 0-60 MPH 3.8 sec* QUARTER MILE 11.8 sec @ 122.7 mph* BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 96 ft BRAKING, 100-0 MPH 288 ft 1.8-MILE ROAD COURSE LAP 86.5 sec** EPA CITY/HWY FUEL ECON 11/16 mpg CO2 EMISSIONS 1.52 lb/mile ON SALE IN U.S. Currently