California dreaming
June 6, 2008
Can a luxury folding-hardtop 2+2 really drive like a Ferrari? The Italians say the new California will prove it, and find them a whole new audience
'The California is a car for a new kind of Ferrari buyer - the new rich'
The California is the Ferrari for the people who have no interest in being hemmed in by the old rules. They want a supercar. They want it to be practical and useable every day. They want
swoopy styling that'll make them look as rich as they are. They want a snug coupe but they want a convertible too, which is why it's got a folding hardtop. With all that - and this is what has eluded everyone so far - they want to be able to open the throttle and turn the wheel and feel it react like a Ferrari. They want it all."I always wanted to make different Ferraris for different Ferraristi," said company president Luca di Montezemolo when we last interviewed him. The California is a car for a new kind of Ferrari buyer, and it's an addition, not a replacement for any of the current range.The new rich - and whatever you read about a credit crunch their numbers will continue to mushroom as new economies boom - don't like being bound by the same constraints as the old rich. When money comes suddenly, with it comes an assumption that it can buy everything. So for Ferrari to get these peoples' trade, it has to give them a car that does everything.
swoopy styling that'll make them look as rich as they are. They want a snug coupe but they want a convertible too, which is why it's got a folding hardtop. With all that - and this is what has eluded everyone so far - they want to be able to open the throttle and turn the wheel and feel it react like a Ferrari. They want it all."I always wanted to make different Ferraris for different Ferraristi," said company president Luca di Montezemolo when we last interviewed him. The California is a car for a new kind of Ferrari buyer, and it's an addition, not a replacement for any of the current range.The new rich - and whatever you read about a credit crunch their numbers will continue to mushroom as new economies boom - don't like being bound by the same constraints as the old rich. When money comes suddenly, with it comes an assumption that it can buy everything. So for Ferrari to get these peoples' trade, it has to give them a car that does everything. >'People have speculated that as it's a front-engined V8 it's going to be Ferrari's base car. It isn't'
People have speculated that as it's a front-engined V8 it's going to be Ferrari's base car. It isn't. It will cost more than a 430 Spider, because it does more and it's designed for the new rich. Who are, in many cases, really very rich indeed.As Luca di Montezemolo put it, getting pretty agitated, "Used cars are our entry cars. We are not going to do a 'new Dino'. No way. I will never do a small Ferrari. A small Ferrari means a cheap Ferrari. What does small mean? Less technology, less innovation? No no no."If you think a folding hardtop is going to knock a big hole in Ferrari's sportiness, try these facts. The California's 0-62mph figure starts with a three, 
thanks to its 460bhp V8, seven-speed gearbox and even weight distribution. It hauls itself down again with standard carbon ceramic brakes. Weight distribution is good, and the body construction is the same as the 430 Spider, so it should be light and rigid and it should handle.
thanks to its 460bhp V8, seven-speed gearbox and even weight distribution. It hauls itself down again with standard carbon ceramic brakes. Weight distribution is good, and the body construction is the same as the 430 Spider, so it should be light and rigid and it should handle.The designers must have faced a bit of a challenge. They had to pack the tail end with a proper boot, a folding hard top and a pair of (admittedly small) rear seats.To be honest, it shows.The car has a bit of a fat backside. I'm a little bit surprised the exhausts are in vertically packed pairs, and the tail lamps are so high. Most designers would have tried to put them horizontally to stretch the visual width. There are probably good aero reasons for keeping the pipes out of the way of the diffuser, though. With Ferrari, the wind tunnel has primacy.Up front it's a classic Ferrari nose, and absolutely none the worse for it. The lines are taut and strong. Behind the front wheels, a set of exit vents feed back into a trough through the doors. The base of that trough mutates into a line that kicks up at the back of the doors, and defines the rear wings.I like that idea because it echoes some of the sweetest-looking 1960s Ferrari roadsters. Unfortunately it's a bit heavy-hipped on this one. But then it's got a hard job to do, defining a wing line over the wheels that de-emphasises the big step up to the tall deck that covers the folded roof.The car sits well on its wheels, with no ungainly overhangs. You can get an idea of its compactness because the wheels are 19s. The same size on a 612 look like sofa castors.
>'I'm a little bit surprised the exhausts are in vertically packed pairs, and the tail lamps are so high'
An open car presents another tricky aero challenge if it's to be useable. It mustn't batter the poor occupants with a cold dusty maelstrom every time they get a bit of speed up. So Ferrari says it has put a lot of emphasis on controlling turbulence. You've got to hope they up-specced the heater too.The seats and instruments are new to this car. Ferrari used to disdain navigation systems because Ferrari drivers were supposed to obey the inner voice not the electronic one. No longer - the California has an up-to-date infotainment setup, both for the daily grind and for taking you to new distant places.This is actually the first time Ferrari has ever made a front-engined V8. It's related to the snarling, animalistic one in the 430, which of course is a seriously good place to start. Same 90-degree block and flat-plane crank, which is the best way to extract power because of the resonances it sets up in the pipes - even if that sacrifices a comfortable V8 burble. What's new here is a direct-injection system, which means greater efficiency.
The chassis has more innovation. Ferraris have had double-wishbone rear suspension since the 1960s, but this one has a multi-link rear end, the aim being to keep the wheels under accurate control over a wider range of travel.In other words, it allows a more supple and comfortable set of springs without mucking up the handling. The traction control is similar to the one in the 599. Can’t ask for better.So this is likely to be the sharpest folding-hardtop GT anywhere. The sharpest Ferrari? Of course not. That’s what the 430 is for. Ferrari is adding this car to its range because it knows there are a new set of buyers out there, and their emphasis is on luxury. It will help the company to grow because most buyers won’t be trading in the existing cars.And it’s not like Ferrari hasn’t been here before. The 1960s road car catalogue is full of machines for royals and film stars. I suppose some people with short memories might accuse Ferrari of selling out by making a slightly less hardcore car, one that demands less of its owners. To which I say cheer up people: at least they didn’t build an SUV.
The chassis has more innovation. Ferraris have had double-wishbone rear suspension since the 1960s, but this one has a multi-link rear end, the aim being to keep the wheels under accurate control over a wider range of travel.In other words, it allows a more supple and comfortable set of springs without mucking up the handling. The traction control is similar to the one in the 599. Can’t ask for better.So this is likely to be the sharpest folding-hardtop GT anywhere. The sharpest Ferrari? Of course not. That’s what the 430 is for. Ferrari is adding this car to its range because it knows there are a new set of buyers out there, and their emphasis is on luxury. It will help the company to grow because most buyers won’t be trading in the existing cars.And it’s not like Ferrari hasn’t been here before. The 1960s road car catalogue is full of machines for royals and film stars. I suppose some people with short memories might accuse Ferrari of selling out by making a slightly less hardcore car, one that demands less of its owners. To which I say cheer up people: at least they didn’t build an SUV.
>'This is likely to be the sharpest folding-hardtop GT anywhere. The sharpest Ferrari? Of course not'
The chassis has more innovation. Ferraris have had double-wishbone rear suspension since the 1960s, but this one has a multi-link rear end, the aim being to keep the wheels under accurate control over a wider range of travel.In other words, it allows a more supple and comfortable set of springs without mucking up the handling. The traction control is similar to the one in the 599. Can't ask for better.So this is likely to be the sharpest folding-hardtop GT anywhere. The sharpest Ferrari? Of course not. That's what the 430 is for. Ferrari is adding this car to its range because it knows there are a new set of buyers out there, and their emphasis is on luxury. It will help the company to grow because most buyers won't be trading in the existing cars.And it's not like Ferrari hasn't been here before. The 1960s road car catalogue is full of machines for royals and film stars. I suppose some people with short memories might accuse Ferrari of selling out by making a slightly less hardcore car, one that demands less of its owners. To which I say cheer up people: at least they didn't build an SUV.
