Ferrari 849 Testarossa Spider review

Heinously rapid.

On the road, there’s no sense of the 849 engaging in any complicated juggling between power sources, just an utter wall of thrust at pretty much any revs. Short of a few all-electric oddballs, there’s pretty much nothing on the planet that accelerates harder.

Can you notice the difference between coupe and convertible? Certainly not on the road: the extra 90kg of weight – much of it additional bracing for the chassis – is of little concern when you’ve got 1,000 horsepower of mitigation, while Ferrari describes the difference in stiffness as ‘negligible’. Roof up or down, the Spider feels utterly rigid.

If you get to the point on the public highway of being able to differentiate between the dynamics of cabrio and coupe, we regret to inform you that you are a quarter of a second away from a gigantic accident.

Is it intimidating?

By rights, it really should be. This is a machine with double the power of a Ferrari F40, with a hundred horsepower more than a McLaren P1, with that power travelling almost exclusively through the rear wheels.

But the 849 Spider is entirely un-scary to drive fast. The way it communicates – through the fabulous steering especially – gives total confidence to wind your way through manettino modes, loosening off the traction control and feeling the limits of grip.

Downforce helps. The Spider makes 415kg of the stuff (at 155mph, admittedly), proof that lopping the top of a car doesn’t have to murder the aero.

But the real genius lies in the 849’s suite of driver aids. Do we understand how the FIVE system creates a digital twin capable of replicating the behaviour of the car in real time? We do not. What we can tell you is that, no matter what mode you’re in, the 849 feels utterly analogue and natural to drive fast. You don’t see the workings, only the result.

So it’s exciting?

Very exciting, very not-terrifying: it’s one hell of a trick. A dangerous trick, in fact. Not because the 849 feels anything but utterly on your side, but because it makes you think, yes, you are the sort of person who can push the limits of thousand-horsepower supercar. A driving god. Max Verstappen with better small-talk.