The 360 Spider is Ferrari's 20th road going convertible. In terms of engineering, looks, and performance it is the best production spider Maranello has ever produced. Thanks to the exclusive know-how Ferrari has accumulated as a Formula 1 constructor, it is the most technologically advanced convertible available when manufactured.
Despite the car's mid-mounted 400bhp V8 engine, Ferrari engineers found a way of creating a roof that automatically folds into its own well between the cabin and the engine bay, thus ensuring purity of line.

As strong and rigid as the coupe, the 360 Spider offers performance almost identical to the coupe version, achieving a top speed over 180mph while weighing barely 130lbs more and offering the same amount of room for the occupants.

The most striking aspect of the 360 Spider's styling is its convertible top. With incredible care, using the wonderful shape of the 360 Maranello as a starting point, Ferraris designers created a stylish and highly effective, fully automatic folding roof. Top down, the Spider's rear fairings evoke the great era of sports racing cars, smoothing the lines of the roll hoops that protect the occupants.

 The 360 Spider is made primarily of aluminium. It is thus extremely light and extremely strong. Thanks to its aluminium alloy body and frame, bonded with special Feran welds, the 360 Spider is as torsionally and flexionally rigid as its berlinetta counterpart. While most of the body is of aluminium, the rigid tonneau that covers the folded roof, and the tub in which the folded roof and mechanism reside, is formed from sound-reducing SMC. The roof itself is made from bonded fabrics and features an interchangeable PVC rear screen.

The 360 Spider's 5-valve per cylinder, 3.6 litre V8 engine produces 400bhp and is centrally mounted with dry-sump lubrication. The oil tank is placed, F1-style, on the spacer between the longitudinal engine and unitary gearbox. Pick-up is spectacular thanks to excellent torque peaking at 275lb-ft at 4750rpm, 80% of that available at just 3000rpm. The engine's flexibility means that the car is relaxing and easy to drive even in heavy traffic. Power output is a record-breaking 400bhp at 8,500rpm (112bhp per litre) the highest specific output yet achieved by a naturally-aspirated V8 production engine.

The 360 Spider has the classic 6-speed gearbox gate-shift. The manual system offers triple cone synchronizers on 1st and 2nd gears, with a double cone on the others. The single dry plate clutch has coaxial hydraulic drive and the limited slip differential has different locking percentages (25% on acceleration and 45% on lift off

The cabin of the 360 Spider is identical to the coupe's: the first things of note are the ease of access offered by the ample door aperture, whether the roof is up or down, and the striking effect of the aluminium kick panel that recalls the lightweight but extremely rigid extruded aluminium sill below. The Spider's interior dimensions are virtually identical to those of the berlinetta, offering a far more spacious cabin than the F355 Spider, right down to the golf bag slot behind the seats. The only differences are the practical, electrically operated strongbox set between the two seats at the centre of the roll bar structure and the two storage nets on each side of the rear console.