The 2010 Ferrari California is both a throwback to Ferrari's heritage and something completely new for Italy's most storied and beloved car builder. The California's swooping fenders, open roof and front engine all recall the great Ferrari GT roadsters of the 1950s and 1960s. But unlike those glorious classic grand touring cars, the California has a V8 instead of a V12 under its hood and there's a folding hardtop to cover the cockpit when the weather dares grow inclement. And, of course, the Ferrari California name is itself nothing new, having been used on the short- and long-wheelbase 250 GT California Spyders built during the late-1950s and early-1960s.
Beyond that, with Ferrari's midengine V8-powered cars growing ever more hard-core with every passing year and its V12 machines spinning off into exotic territory, the 2010 Ferrari California is intended to be a friendlier, everyday Ferrari. Toward that end the California is the first Ferrari to ever be offered with a rear-mounted, seven-speed, dual-clutch automated manual transmission. The California also has a pair of dinky rear seats that add utility to the interior, even if they can't really accommodate mammals. And, at least during the California's initial launch period, that was the only transmission offered. Anyone wanting a traditional manual gearbox in the Ferrari California was just going to have to wait until Ferrari got around to putting one in.
At launch, the Ferrari California was powered by a new over-bored and under-stroked direct injection version of the 4.3-liter V8 used in Ferrari's midengine machines. With its "flat" 180-degree crankshaft, separate intake plenums for each bank of cylinders, and a 460-horsepower power peak that occurs at a dizzying 7,750 rpm, the California V8 is a thoroughly satisfying, purely Ferrari power plant. And it sounds so operatically and blisteringly wicked that most Ferrari California drivers will never commit the blasphemy of turning on the radio.
The 2010 Ferrari California is intended to be Ferrari's entry-level model. Of course, Ferrari's entry-level is well beyond where most manufacturers have already exited, but that's not the point. The point is, if you can't afford the Ferrari California, then get your agent to renegotiate your NBA contract.
