If you’ve seen the SF90 Spider or the F8 Spider and scratched your head at the naming, it’s clear you haven’t experienced the thrill of piloting a Ferrari convertible. While Ferrari has branded their convertibles differently over the years — spider, spyder, GTS, aperta — they’ve always delivered the same promise: the excitement of Ferrari performance with the wind in your hair. Aperta means “open” and GTS is simply Gran Turismo Spyder… but why do we call convertibles “spiders?” It’s a story older than Ferrari.
Many of the terms we use in the auto industry come from a time that predates the first car, and “spider” can be traced all the way back to the horse-drawn carriage. The spider phaeton was a lightweight carriage built for sport and show that featured a removable top (with minimal protection from the elements). While many other open-air carriages sported permanent side windows, the spider offered a true open-air experience.
Some speculate that the carriage, with its small body, large wooden wheels, and thin spokes resembled a spider, and the name just stuck. It’s more likely that the vehicle’s eight-spoke wheels earned it its name, as they were distributed unevenly: four pointing to one side of the wheel and four to the opposite, with a larger gap between them.
Is it “spider” or “spyder,” though? It often varies from automaker to automaker, though you can tell from the GTS and the current Ferrari naming convention: sometimes one era features a spyder while another features a spider.
The current Ferrari lineup has a trio of spiders:
Whether you have your sights set on a new Ferrari Spider or you’re looking for something classic, Ferrari Lake Forest is here to help. Contact us today for more information.
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