The Ferrari F355 Spider is the full convertible F355, with a folding soft top rather than the GTS's lift-out panel. Ferrari put roughly 1,800 hours of wind-tunnel work into the open bodywork. Under the deck it is the familiar 3.5-liter 40-valve V8 with the 6-speed manual or, from 1997, the paddle-shift F1 gearbox.

With 3,717 built the Spider is the second most common F355 after the Berlinetta, and it is the heaviest of the road cars because of the convertible structure. It trades a little of the coupe's rigidity for open-air driving, and it is the bodystyle the run-out Serie Fiorano was based on.