Rent a Ferrari 488 Pista Spider

In years past you knew you were getting into a Supercar. You sit in an admittedly body-hugging swat that eased you into the illusion that you were a worthy F1 contender. You'd look at that stripped-down dash and think that austerity was both right and proper. There was no nod to comfort, and the experience of driving your chosen mechanical monstrosity was equal parts fear and exhilaration.

Well, those days are gone (except for the exhilaration part). In fact, no one is going to miss the pared-down Supercar experience - especially when they can step into the Ferrari 488 Pista Spider.

But before we begin to sing the praises of this automotive piece of art let's get the housekeeping out of the way. You are going to be paying the House of the Prancing Pony the same as what you would probably pay for a modest suburban home - around $350,000. And that is before you get to the little extras that make being wealthy such an interesting hobby.

So, is deciding to forego shelter and the backyard barbecue worth it? The short and pithy answer is a resounding yes. The Ferrari 488 Pista Spider is a masterpiece.

On paper it impresses with a twin-turbocharged 3.9-liter V-8 delivering 711 horses - and those horses want to gallop. The 488 Pista Spider gets you to 60 mph in the blink of an eye (2.7 seconds). Those in love with comparative statistics will note that the Lamborghini Huracán Evo gets to that speed in 2.5 seconds - but when you start to split the performance into hair-thin slivers you may be missing the point about what makes these cars so special.

And the 488 Pista Spider has been bred to specialize in raising those tiny and fine hairs on the back of your neck. This is a Supercar that was designed with the track in mind - not that it doesn't shine on the neighborhood roads. The seven-speed auto gearbox sends the signals to the back wheels and the scenery starts to get fuzzy very quickly. However, that suspension keeps things semi-civilized - you wouldn't become irritable with this automobile when doing the weekly shopping. But you'd better keep that shopping experience to a minimum - there's only six square feet of cargo space available.

But the 488 Pista Spider has another trick up its sleeve. It isn't auster in its interior offerings. Yes, there are the usual wonderful Ferrari seats and trim (in this case the seats are one-piece racing carbon-fiber) - but there is also a great infotainment system - and if that hair-raising engine sound doesn't get your heart beating faster you can always turn to the six-speaker audio offering. It's got Bluetooth - but, sorry Android users, you're out of luck, the 488 Pista Spider has Apple CarPlay, but no Android Auto.

The Spider is also surprisingly spacious (for a two-seater Supercar) and the exterior boasts 20-inch wheels and projector-beam LED headlights with an auto leveling feature. As standard equipment you'll also get heated, power-folding side-view mirrors, rear fog lamps and rain-sensing windshield wipers. And, of course, LED taillights.

But that's all well and good. What counts is that you will be getting behind the steering wheel of what must surely become one of Ferrari's most legendary pieces of automotive artwork.