2025 Ferrari Roma Spider

The front-engine (front/mid-engined, if you're that sort of dork) Ferrari Roma Spider fills the niche vacated by the departed Portofino.

Between the front wheels and the firewall nestles a twin-turbo 3.9L V-8 snarling out 612 horsepower. Backed by an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, Ferrari claims it'll launch the Roma Spider to sixty in 3.4 seconds, but Motor Trend coaxed a 3.3 second run out of a 2022 coupe, so...

Anyway, it's a beautiful car and I guess if you have $279,965 burning a hole in your pocket, there are worse ways you could spend it.

This one was photographed in August of 2026 using a Nikon Zfc and a Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8 zoom lens.

2013 Ferrari F12berlinetta

The 2012 Geneva Motor Show saw the debut of the replacement for Ferrari's 599 grand tourer, the new F12berlinetta.

Under the hood was an evolution of the 6.0L F140 C V-12 from the 599. The new F140 FC motor received a displacement increase to 6.3L and power swelled commensurately, from 612 ponies to a whopping 730 SAE net horses. This made it, as its predecessor had been when it was launched, the most powerful street-going auto Ferrari had offered to that date.

The V-12 was backed with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic and allowed the 3,895 pound coupe to lay down some mind-blowing performance numbers. Road & Track's test car launched to sixty in a 3.1-second eyeblink, and smashed the quarter in 11.1 seconds at 128mph through the traps.

All this godlike power could be yours for the low, low price of $323,338 (or $447k in today's money).

This one was photographed using a Fujifilm X-T2 and a Fujinon XF 16-80mm f/4 R OIS WR zoom lens

2016 Ferrari 488 GTB

"Entry-Level Exotic" seems like an oxymoron, but that's the job that the mid-engine V-8 powered cars from Ferrari have served since the days when Tom Selleck was zooming around Hawaii in a 308 GTS on television in the early Eighties. 

A late '70s 308 GTB would have set an American buyer back at least $28,850, which is something like $140k in today's dough, but by the time they'd federalized a grey market BB512, they'd be close to double that amount out of pocket. (Just federalizing the Boxer cost something like fourteen grand, or the price of a '78 Corvette and a Camaro Z28 to drive while the 'Vette was in the shop.)

Anyway, the mid-engine V-8 cars continued to be the "affordable" Ferraris through several generations, with the 488 being the most-recent-but-one. It succeeded the 458 and marked a return to more traditional Ferrari nomenclature: Whereas the 458 had been called that for its 4.5 liter 8 cylinder motor, the 488 designation refers to the displacement of one cylinder in cubic centimeters.

The 458 had faced pressure from increasingly potent Lambos and McLarens in its weight class and so the decision was made to drop the normally-aspirated 4.5L F136 F V-8 and go to a twin-turbo 3.9L motor. The  F154 CB V-8 is a gnarlier version of the motor found under the hood of the front-engined California T. In the 488 the F154 was rated at 661 horsepower at an ear-splitting 8,000 rpm, over a hundred horses more than the version in the front-engine car. Ferrari pilots hadn't heard turbo whine coming from over their shoulder since the days of the F40 in the early Nineties.

With that much motor, the 2016 488 GTB put up some impressive numbers when tested by Motor Trend. Sixty miles per hour went past in a 2.7 second eye blink and the quarter mile was dispatched in 10.6 seconds at 135 mph. The car braked from sixty in a retina-detaching 94 feet and circled the skidpad at 1.02g. Manufacturer's claimed top speed is 202mph. All this for a base price of $249,150 in 2016 dollars.

 This one was photographed in April of 2025 using an Olympus E-510 and a Zuiko Digital 12-60mm f/2.8-4 zoom lens.

2016 Ferrari California T

The California T launched in the 2015 model year as an update of the 2009-2014 Ferrari California. On the outside, the body got a pretty thorough restyling, while under the hood a twin-turbo 3.9L V-8 replaced the previous 4.3L normally-aspirated mill.

The F154 BB V-8 was a 32V DOHC powerplant, with variable valve timing, dry-sump lubrication, direct injection, and a flat plane crank, as well as being the first turbocharged motor in a road going Ferrari since the F40 back in the Eighties. It was rated at 553 SAE net horsepower and sent power to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

The original California, which had been something of an experiment, what with its front-mounted V-8 and retractable hardtop, had been criticized by some testers as being overweight and underpowered. The California T not only added power, but at 4,064 pounds, Car and Driver's 2015 test car was almost sixty  pounds lighter than its predecessor.

The result was a car that launched to sixty in only 3.3 seconds and annihilated the quarter mile in just 11.3 seconds at 128 mph. Base price was $202,723 in 2015 money, which is about $273k in constant dollars.

The Argento Nurburgring example in the photos was snapped with a Nikon D300S and a 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom lens in September of 2023.

Car Links

1972 MG Midget at 49th & Pennsylvania in Indy

• Car and Driver drives each generation of VW GTI.


• Iain Banks (yes, that Iain Banks) drives a Formula 1 car.


• P.J. O'Rourke drives a Ferrari 308GTS.