I am not as old as you think. 

But there was a time when a Ferrari convertible was all about a screaming V8 soundtrack, with sufficient ultraviolet rays to get you tanned and enough wind in your hair to ruin a good hairstyle.

Well, today, the Ferrari 849 Testarossa Spider still delivers that, but it does so by rewriting Ferrari's traditional rulebook. 

Here are five things that make this Ferrari open-top supercar one of the most fascinating cars you'll see in 2026.

The Ferrari 849 Testarossa is far more than just a successor to the SF90

1. It's the successor to the Ferrari SF90

Firstly, to call it a mere successor or even worse, a mere facelift to the SF90, will be to give the 849 Testarossa Spider that you see here a severe injustice. Everything about the car has been seriously tweaked except for the greenhouse, which essentially makes it a brand new car.

Apart from the design, which is obviously different from the SF90, the 849 Testarossa is also fitted with the largest turbochargers ever in a road-legal, top-down Ferrari.

Driving a Ferrari with over 1,000bhp is nothing short of amazing

2. It's a Ferrari with over 1,000bhp

As a result of that, together with enhanced aerodynamics and re-jigging of the powerplant, the 849 Testarossa Spider is capable of 1,036bhp. Frankly, the numbers are ridiculous. Behind the seats rests a heavily revised 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 that's assisted by three electric motors - two in front and one at the back.

As such, the low-slung two-seater supercar will dash from nought to 100km/h in just 2.25 seconds. This, mind you, is the kind of number that places the car squarely in hypercar rather than traditional supercar territory.

It takes just 14 seconds to raise or lower the roof

3. The roof folds in just 14 seconds

But performance figures aside, this Ferrari is also capable of a "lifestyle" figure, which is the speed of folding its roof. The Spider has the ability to make the roof disappear in just 14 seconds and does so at speeds of up to 45km/h. 

This party trick is undoubtedly useful if you're caught in a sudden tropical downpour or if you simply decide halfway through a drive that sunshine is better enjoyed without a roof in the way. The result, as I've experienced first hand, is a car that can transform from coupe to convertible quicker than most people can decide what music to play on Spotify.

The rear of the 849 Testarossa Spider looks every bit as dramatic as a hypercar's

4. The rear looks more interesting than you think

Regardless of how you want to transform the 849 Testarossa Spider, one thing is for sure: The rear of the car is mighty interesting.

While I reckon most car manufacturers would have been tempted to recreate the original Testarossa, Ferrari didn't. Instead, the designers decided to draw inspiration from historic endurance racers such as the Ferrari 512S while incorporating styling themes first seen on newer models like the F80.

For instance, the 849 Testarossa Spider features a dramatic rear architecture where two aerodynamic wings flank a central active spoiler, which together help to produce up to 415kg of downforce at 250km/h.

With a very functional cabin like this, the 849 Testarossa Spider is a very liveable supercar you can pilot on a daily basis

5. A very liveable supercar

So while the car looks like it's trying to set a lap record, even when standing still, the 849 Testarossa Spider is a car you can really live with on a daily basis. While many of the supercar-makers' models demands compromises of sorts, prioritising performance over comfort, the Ferrari that you see on this lovely page appears to take a different approach.

See, the car features an intuitive digital interface that will not throw you off, physical buttons on the steering, a crisp passenger display and a kind of refinement and personality that's as comfortable arriving at a luxury hotel as it is attacking a race circuit.