2006 Ferrari F430 Spider & 2006 Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder

There are probably few things in the world more pointless than a 190-mph convertible. Even if you could find somewhere to go 190 mph, driving one with the roof down at that speed would be like sticking your head in the dyno room at General Electric while the boys are bench testing an F/A-18 jet engine. On full afterburner.

Convertibles, of course, are for being seen in, mobile fashion statements that usually do their best work nailing the primo parking spot on the forecourt of the nearest Ritz-Carlton. But mooching around Beverly Hills or South Beach strapped into a convertible with $15,364 worth of race-tuned carbon-ceramic brakes underfoot, or 513 horsepower of autobahn-hungry V-10 growling quietly at your shoulder blades, seems, ahhh, a slight waste of engineering.

Yes, you could argue Ferrari's F430 Spider and Lamborghini's new Gallardo Spyder (the spellings are correct: Ferrari takes the "i" road, while Lamborghini takes the "y" road) are indeed pointless cars. So we're not going to dwell on the fact they don't have much luggage space. We won't mention that their gas mileage struggles to get into double figures, nor discuss whether the Lamborghini is a better value than the Ferrari. Nope, we're just gonna get in and drive them. Hard. Because if you do have the means to mooch around in a convertible supercar, it's nice to know that you're not just doing it because it makes you look cool. No, really.

Both these cars have been covered in detail in previous issues (Ferrari, September 2005; Lamborghini, March 2006), so you know the basics: 4.3-liter, 483-horsepower V-8 driving through the rear wheels plays 5.0-liter, 513-horsepower V-10 with all-wheel drive. Removing the roof has added a little weight (about 150 pounds for the Ferrari, and 260 for the Lamborghini) and cost a little rigidity. As tested--with those carbon-ceramic brakes and $5004 worth of sports seats--our F430 stickered at $229,590, while the sat-nav and E-gear equipped Gallardo weighed in at $216,000.

All chiseled panels and edgy attitude, the Gallardo threatens to steal the show even before you reach for the door handle. Although not as good-looking as the coupe, it's still a 21st-century supercar, not a digitally remastered refugee from the 1960s. The pert soft-top curls tightly over the cabin and folds away neatly under the rear engine cover with the push of a button, leaving that steeply raked windshield to exaggerate its charging-bull stance.