2017 Ferrari LaFerrari spider will take 'Aperta' name
Drop-top hypercar revealed on social media; Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne said customers have already been approached.
The name of the Ferrari LaFerrari convertible variant has been discovered – Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta.
'Aperta' has previously been reserved for limited-run Ferraris – most recently a more hardcore 458 and one-off 599, badged SA Aperta and GT Aperta.
Although it has not been officially confirmed – that's likely to happen at the Paris motor show later this year – sources suggest the Aperta name has been chosen. This is backed up by images on the Ferrari website that, when downloaded, are labelled 'laferrari-aperta-news-580x362', and 'car_limited-edition-special-series-1920x0_57AAHW' - signifying the car's limited-run status.
The LaFerrari Aperta was revealed earlier this week, ahead of its Paris motor show debut and customer deliveries in 2017.
Three images have been released, showing the open-top hypercar's design changes, which include a pair of rear buttresses and roll-over hoop.
The biggest difference between the LaFerrari coupé and Aperta is, of course, the roof. Ferrari’s most recent convertible models, the 488 Spider and California, have had folding hard-tops, but the LaFerrari Aperta gets a removable carbonfibre hard-top or soft-top, due to the extra weight of a full convertible and the tight packaging of the mid-mounted V12 engine and hybrid system.
The LaFerrari’s carbonfibre chassis has received extensive modifications to maintain torsional strength and the car's aerodynamics have been tweaked to ensure its drag coefficient is the same as the coupé's.
The hybrid system from the LaFerrari coupé, which mixes a naturally aspirated 6.3-litre V12 engine with an electric motor and battery pack for a combined 950bhp, makes it over to the convertible version unchanged.
CEO Sergio Marchionne confirmed earlier this year that potential customers had already been shown the car, and Ferrari has now confirmed all available examples have been sold.
No pricing has been revealed. However, Autocar UK heard from one private broker earlier this year who claimed to be able to source a brand-new LaFerrari Aperta for €3.5 million (Rs 26.75 crore) before taxes for 2017 delivery.
RELATED ARTICLES
Sept 2024 From R&D incentives to EV infrastructure: What auto components industry expects from Budget 2024
Sept 2024 From R&D incentives to EV infrastructure: What auto components industry expects from Budget 2024
US car majors hit the brakes on driverless cars
Ford Motor and Volkswagen to close self-driving startup Argo AI, due to lack of technology and clear regulations.
Autoliv and Geely to develop advanced safety tech for future vehicles
Scope of cooperation includes safety for high-level autonomous driving, intelligent steering wheel technology, a 360deg ...