Keeping my hair on – both physically and metaphorically - was on my mind as I set off in Ferrari’s new 211mph-plus open-top supercar.

I still want to retain as much of mine as I can. So, the prospect of losing some with a blast of wind-in-the-hair motoring in the incredibly swift new Ferrari 12Cilindri Spider gave me pause for thought.

The £366,500, two-seater, Ferrari accelerates from rest to 62mph in just 2.95 seconds and to 124mph in 8.2 seconds, before topping out somewhere beyond 211mph.

I needn’t have worried. Although it proved bags of fun doing a top-down tour around the Portuguese coastline, near Lisbon, the road conditions meant I was nowhere close to testing those extreme limits.

But Ferrari is very clear this new cabriolet is a grand tourer made for leisure and pleasure, rather than for breaking speed and performance records.

Riding on big 21-inch alloy wheels, the Ferrari 12Cilindri Spider proved an engaging delight to drive - whether flying up twisty alpine roads like a mountain goat or enjoying a loud burst of instant acceleration along the ocean front and motorways. 

The 12Cilindri Spider is designed to be a cruiser not a bruiser, despite awesome power from its vast 6.5-litre V12 naturally aspirated petrol engine that develops a massive 830hp, that’s the equivalent to eight-and-a-bit modern Fiat Pandas.

It looks the part too, with an eye-catching front-engined, berlinetta design and elegant lines harking back to Ferrari’s open-topped Gran Turismo models of the 1950s and 60s.

The scintillating Spider was developed alongside its hard-top 12Cilindri sibling, which I tested last autumn.

With order books open now and first UK deliveries in autumn, the Spider carries a £30,000 premium over the coupe. But while the starting price is just under £370,000, costs can easily soar well beyond £400,000 once enticing but expensive extras such as carbon-fibre trim are added.

The Spider has a reinforced chassis but weighs only 60kg more than the coupe, while the 200-litre boot is just 80 litres less. So, there’s sufficient space for soft bags for the weekend.

I had the roof down most of the time – all the better to hear the satisfying Ferrari V12 howl, especially when changing through the gears via manual paddles on the 8-speed automatic dual-clutch gearbox.

The aluminium roof can be opened or softly closed in just 14 seconds and at up to 28mph. The sequence is a balletic performance in itself.

With the top in place, it’s as snug inside as the 12Cilindri coupe – and from the outside the pair are hard to tell apart.

So given the choice, for me the Spider wins. By a hair’s breadth.

Will it fit in my garage? Ferrari 12Cilindri Spider 

Price: from £366,500 (a £30k uplift on coupe)

First deliveries: Autumn 2025 

DIMENSIONS 

Length: 4,733mm

Width: 2,176mm

Height: 1,292mm

Wheelbase: 2,700mm

Dry weight: 1,620kg (60kg heavier than coupe at 1,560kg)

Fuel tank capacity: 92 litres

Boot size: 200 litres (against 280 litres in the coupe)

PERFORMANCE 

Engine: 6.5-litre V12 naturally aspirated petrol

Power: 830hp

Transmission: 8-speed dual clutch F1 DCT

Acceleration 0 to 62mph: 2.95 secs

Acceleration 0 to 124mph: 8.2 secs

Braking 62 to 0mph: 31.4 metres

Braking 124 to 0mph: 122 metres

Fuel economy: TBC

CO2 emissions: TBC

The 12Cilindri Spider: What you need to know

Buyers of the 12Cilindri Spider will obviously need deep pockets, but who is this new Ferrari for?

The legendary Italian car firm says: ‘The Ferrari 12Cilindri Spider is intended for both connoisseurs of the marque with a clear vision of what Ferrari has stood for in the motoring world since 1947, and newer Ferraristi who dream of a car that lets them combine unmatched driving emotion with comfort and Italian design – and the possibility of enjoying the wind in their hair.’

Those established and newer Ferrari customers will get both top-end design and technology.

The 12Cilindri Spider has a host of clever aerodynamic tweaks to manage airflows and keep the car rooted to the ground and stable at all speeds.

These include two raised racing-style fins at the rear, which echo the driver and passenger’s head positions.

Meanwhile, instead of a conventional spoiler, special flaps and winglets configure automatically to direct air.

The car also adapts, according to speed, to deal with low drag or high downforce conditions. So-called ‘vortex generators’ beneath the car will channel airflows to keep it grounded.

To ensure its power can be brought safely to a stop, the car has a ‘brake by wire’ system that reduces braking distances. The Spider can brake to a stop from 62mph in 31.4metres, and from 124mph in 122metres.

A four-wheel independent steering system manages the movement of every wheel independently to improve cornering and responsiveness during rapid direction changes.

Ferrari adds: ‘Optimum handling is also ensured thanks to a near-ideal weight distribution – 47.8 per cent front and 52.2 per cent rear.’

Ferrari says the car and its two pairs of exhaust pipes have been tuned to maximise the sound of the V12 engine for the driver, but without any artificial input.

It says: ‘Sound is pivotal to marrying the comfort, luxury and exhilarating driving emotions typical of a Ferrari V12: to this end, every element of the intake and exhaust lines were optimised.

‘The perfect integration and calibration of high and low frequencies coming from the intake and exhaust systems respectively also influence the engine’s timbre.’

‘The geometry of the forms and curves of the exhaust system was also perfected to guarantee the very purest notes of the signature Ferrari sound all the way to the limiter’.

In short, it sounds good too.

Buyers will be cossetted in the cabin. With the side windows up, the aerodynamics meant that even at speed, I was snug in my alfresco Ferrari and never for a moment concerned that a hair on my head was in danger of blowing away.

A collar of air blowing from a neck-warmer kept me safe from a chill. I even enjoyed a seat-massage.

Inside the cockpit are three displays – a central 10.25 inch touchscreen, a 15.6 inch driver display and for the passenger their own 8.8 inch display.

When it comes to extras, the sky is the limit, with options stretching from hundreds to many thousands of pounds, especially for carbon fibre trim that can add massively to the final bill. Carbon fibre racing seats alone, for example, will set you back £8,398. Daytona racing seats are even more expensive at £9,519.

A personalisation pack with bespoke elements will cost you £12,666, and an airbrushed logo £9,556.

And my neck warmer? Well that was a mere £2,239 addition.