The SF90 Spider is a 1,000PS convertible V8 hybrid

Think of it as a LaFerrari Aperta (its limited-run hybrid forerunner) for the masses, at least those masses with around £425,000 to spare. Okay so this 1,000PS convertible flagship weighs 100kg more than the SF90 Stradale coupe, with which it shares its mind-blowing array of technical wizardry and tiny luggage space, but everywhere else it stays true to the acclaimed SF90 formula.

It’s fast: 0-62mph in 2.5 seconds, 0-124mph in seven and a top speed of 211mph – all identical to the Stradale. It looks jaw-dropping with the top down and virtually indistinguishable from the coupe with the top up, despite some significant modifications. Ferrari says it is just as aerodynamic, and you can still get an eyeful of the V8 engine even with the roof down.

And of course you will be able to hear that engine more than ever now – as long as you’re not in eDrive mode when, for a max of around 15 miles, all you will hear is the whir of electric motors. In any of the other modes – Hybrid, Performance and Qualify – Ferrari is promising the V8 will sound better than ever with the top down.

The roof is the latest development of the retractable aluminium hard top that first surfaced on the 2011 458 Spider. Then as now, this roof system is aerodynamically and stylistically just as proficient as the coupe while offering maximum protection from the elements. It’s a lever operated system that can retract in 14 seconds while on the move, and unobtrusively integrates with the B-pillars when down. It’s also compact, but it still does take up 100 litres of space, though not from luggage room which remains at 74 litres.

There’s an electric rear window which you can leave up when the roof is down to help avoid buffeting at speed. Something else designed to stop you getting blown away at 200mph is a “drag neutral” section in the cabin between driver and passenger seats that channels the air flow away from the head and shoulders.

Making a convertible out of the Stradale, and retaining chassis rigidity, aero prowess, engine/brake cooling and the car’s looks, has clearly involved extensive work. Panels have been resculpted, the cockpit has been shifted forwards, the roof is 20mm lower, the A-pillars are more slender and the windscreen is more raked.

Aerodynamically it all seems to have been worth it with Ferrari claiming that it matches the Stradale for aero performance with the roof in place, delivering “downforce and efficiency figures unmatched by any other car in the category.” The SF90 Spider’s underbody generates more downforce than any other Ferrari convertible, it says. Key elements are the two diffusers ahead of the front wheels and new vortex generator strakes, plus the active Gurney flap at the rear that varies downforce over the rear axle, delivering up to 390kg at 155mph.

Ferrari doesn’t say the Spider is as torsionally stiff as the Stradale, just that it offers “30 per cent higher torsional rigidity than previous platforms without any increase in weight”. Over previous platforms perhaps, but inevitably the Spider does weigh in at more than the coupe; its dry weight is 1,670kg whereas Ferrari quotes 1,570kg for the Stradale. You can shave 21kg off that weight by opting for the track-ready Assetto Fiorano spec.

A chunk of that weight is due to the SF90’s extraordinary 1,000PS (746kW) hybrid powertrain of twin electric motors up front, a turbo V8 and another electric motor for luck at the rear – all of this, along with the eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox and array of trick traction technologies, is unchanged over the Stradale.

Like the coupe, the Spider can be front-drive, rear-drive, or all-wheel-drive depending on where you have set the Manettino control on the steering wheel. And the Spider still lacks a reverse gear – the front electric motors just spin the other way so you can go backwards. The car’s pure electric side is catered for by a 7.9kWh battery pack which has to be plugged in if you want the benefit of the 15-mile electric range.

Us, we’d hit the roof down button, select Performance on the Mannetino and hear the V8 – 60PS more powerful than any previous Ferrari V8 turbo engine – sing away. The promise here is of an exceptional drive after all. When we drove the SF90 Stradale we concluded it was an “astonishing technical accomplishment” and “incredible driver’s car”, saying that it represented a new level for production supercars.

Whether it’s to see, or be seen in, Ferrari’s latest Spider appears on course to follow in some pretty exclusive tyretracks.