Ferrari Key Takeaways Unleashing 1,036 HP in style. The 2027 Ferrari 849 Testarossa Spider offers thrilling performance with its twin-turbo hybrid V8 and convertible design. Convertible charm vs. coupe precision. Despite a slight weight penalty, the Spider’s open-top experience is unmatched, blending power with driving enjoyment. Advanced tech and design. Features like a button-rich steering wheel and enhanced seat adjustments elevate the driving experience. Targeting the ultra-wealthy. Positioned for luxury enthusiasts, the Spider thrives in exclusive settings where showing off is the norm. Bottom line: The 2027 Ferrari 849 Testarossa Spider combines raw power and luxury, offering a unique driving experience for those who value style and performance. ✦ AI assisted, editor reviewed Back in February, my boss Kyle Cheromcha squeezed into racetrack attire and survived a white-knuckle drive in the new Testrossa, courtesy of 1,036 horsepower and a very wet road course. In comparison, I wore shorts and a t-shirt while blasting up a volcanic island in the middle of the Atlantic. Oh, and a bucket hat—that was a must. These two distinct wardrobes perfectly embody the different attitudes between a fixed-roof and a convertible. Or more specifically, the 2027 Ferrari 849 Testarossa Coupe and its new sibling, the 849 Testarossa Spider. Like most of today’s car designs deemed unpopular by the high court of social media, the new Testarossa looks much better in person than it does in photographs. Not that I think it looks ugly on a screen, but that aggressive front splitter can make you look away depending on the angle at which the photograph is taken. In person, the range-topping Spider looks hilariously boxy up front, deliciously wedgy from the side, and surprisingly angry from the back. Ferrari The 4.0-liter, twin-turbo hybrid V8 sitting behind the cockpit packs the largest turbos of any Ferrari road car to deliver 50 more ponies than the angry SF90. It’s a three-radial-flux-motor hybrid system—two up front and one in the back, between the engine and transmission—and a 7.45-kWh battery good for 15 miles of electric-only range. On the twisty cliffside roads of Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands, those 15 miles of silent propulsion weren’t touched at all. Okay, maybe while departing my hotel’s driveway, but that’s about it. For all of three hours under the same incessant sun that bathes the Sahara Desert just 185 miles east, I made sure to use as much fuel as possible to get the full Testarossa Spider experience. And I’ll tell ya, I don’t know why anyone would ever buy the coupe over this one, especially with the folding hardtop that provides the best of both worlds. Jerry Perez The weight penalty over the coupe is about 198 pounds, which is not insignificant, though the complex folding system can open and close the top in just 14 seconds at up to 30 mph. If you flat-out hate convertibles and that’s why you won’t consider one, then fair. But if you think you’ll notice the performance differential between the two on a feisty Sunday drive because of the added weight, you’re delusional. Driving enjoyment is so much more important than any half-tenth you’ll leave at whatever track you’ll never take your Ferrari to. With all of this in mind, I slipped into the red-leather driver’s seat to familiarize myself with the cockpit. Luckily, things are pretty similar to the 296, Purosangue, and 12Cilinidri I’ve previously driven, so my learning curve was relatively flat. This particular unit was the recipient of Ferrari’s new button-rich steering wheel, which ditched the old haptic and touch controls for starting the engine and other functions. It’s worth noting that the powertrain mapping selections (eDrive, Hybrid, Performance, Qualify) remain that way, but the engine start button and manettino are still chunky physical buttons coated in a lovely Rosso Corsa. Ferrari, Jerry Perez The way you adjust the seat has been enhanced, too. You can use the buttons on the side of the seat, but now you can also access a menu on the screen in front of you (the digital gauges) and use the steering-wheel-mounted D-Pad to fine-tune the side bolsters, bottom bolsters, leg extender, and lumbar support. It’s all very well laid out and easy to access on the fly. Likewise, new tweaks to the OS make it easier than ever to tailor the car’s ADAS systems to your liking or driving scenario, and to interact with tech like ventilated or heated seats, an air scarf, and other convenience features, including Apple CarPlay. With the roof down, AC up, and cooled seats on, I set off on Tenerife’s well-maintained curvy roads to see what the Testarossa was all about. The bucket hat was already coming in handy, but sadly, the tops of my legs that weren’t covered by my shorts were suffering within minutes. “Oh well, that’s the Spider experience,” I told myself. Jerry Perez I’ve driven two cars with at least 1,000 hp this year, and another that’s mighty close to that magic number, and experiencing that raw performance for the first time on any given day reminds me a lot of what it was like to drive an EV when they first came out. Bury your foot in the Testarossa’s accelerator, and you’ll be shoved back into your seat while your brain yells, “Stop, this is scary!” Guess what, it is scary, especially when you’re driving on the side of a mountain at silly speeds in a car that’s dangerously close to a million bucks with options. Unlike a heavy EV, though, this cavallino will play ball with you in tight corners, and the route Ferrari had mapped out for me curiously had many of those. Throw the car into a corner at a higher speed than you would in most other sports cars, and it won’t bat an eyelash. The real fun begins when you start feeding the car more power mid-corner and realize you’re only scratching the surface of its capabilities. The sound of the hybrid V8 is mighty, and the sound of the upshifts and downshifts is downright violent. The first time I heard them, I couldn’t help but laugh. They’re more visceral than in the 296 Speciale, and that car is absolutely mental. A light tap of the brakes to fine-tune your line as you aim for an imaginary marker to get back on the throttle, all so you can rocket through that sweeping corner to test the car’s balance. Before you know it, it’s time to really make the carbon ceramics work to bring the 3,700-pound hybrid to a stop. There’s a traffic jam ahead, though it doesn’t compare to the ones the car keeps creating at every busy intersection when locals pull up to take a photo. Jerry Perez Back at speed and bang, bang, bang, you can really only get a few shifts—up to third or maybe fourth gear—in a medium-sized straight before another tight corner reveals itself. Each shift is delivered with precision, and you can feel the drivetrain tick as if you were sitting on a huge Swiss timepiece. After my first hour or so, I had a big revelation about the car’s overall feel. It felt a bit heavy to me, especially mid-corner, just as I neared the max steering input. It’s hard to explain, because it didn’t feel heavy in a way that it delivered worse performance than I expected, but heavy in a way that you could feel the car’s size. In fact, that is exactly it. The 849 Testarossa Spider feels big and wide—likely because it is. While comparing driving notes with fellow journalists who had driven its predecessor, the SF90, they did not share my sentiment, so perhaps it’s my brain comparing it to the smaller, lighter Ferraris I’ve driven. Still, I think there’s a valid point in there: if you want the nimblest, most agile Ferrari, you should look down the lineup. As many owners will do at some point, I grew sick of the sun, and it was time to raise the roof. I did it while cruising slowly and without needing to stop. Despite having done this in dozens of cars over the years, seeing a power roof do its thing while driving will never not be cool. It’s like having to look up at a helicopter flying by. Always cool. What’s not cool is that Ferrari is now piping sound into the cabin to amplify the engine sound, though it’s not necessarily by choice. Due to regulations and the car’s homologation for global markets, it had to be equipped with a sensor that captures the pressure and frequency of the natural sound and sends it to the cockpit via the speakers. Though I will say that A) it’s so minimal it’s not actually noticeable B) the raw sound of the V8 is more than plenty in most circumstances, so this is really only to add a little cherry on top when driving with both the top and windows up. Jerry Perez, Ferrari Verdict It’s not the most handsome Ferrari in the lineup; I think that’s the 296. However, I think the Spider with the top down is much better-looking than the coupe. I wouldn’t call it pretty, but I would certainly call it cool. It’s also the most advanced and most powerful of the range (not including the F80, of course), and that says a lot when you’re talking about a storied automaker like Ferrari. Compared to the 12Cilindri I drove earlier this year, this thing will run circles around it on the road and on the track. That said, I walked away from my test not knowing who exactly the target buyer is for the 2027 Ferrari 849 Testarossa Spider. If I wanted the best-handling (and prettiest) Ferrari, I’d buy the 296 Speciale Aperta; if I wanted the most enjoyable and gentleman-like Ferrari, I’d buy the 12Cilindri Spider; and if I wanted the most practical, then I’d spring for the Purosangue. So, where does that leave this 1,036-hp monster? Just as I reflected on that, I looked around and saw the paradisiacal island I was on, surrounded by golf courses catering to the ultra-wealthy, five-star resorts, and more helipads than I could count. Ah yes, that’s who. Ferrari provided The Drive with travel, accommodations, and access to the vehicle for the purpose of writing this review. 2027 Ferrari 849 Testarossa Spider Specs Base Price$577,437 (est)Powertrain4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 hybrid | 8-speed dual-clutch automatic | all-wheel driveHorsepower1,036Torque621 lb-ftSeating Capacity2Curb Weight3,661 poundsCargo Volume2.61 cubic feet0-60 mph2.1 secondsTop Speed205 mphScore8/10