Cars
Ferrari Californial
Reviving the ‘California’ name originally sported by the 1950s Ferrari 250GT Spider, the Ferrari California opens up a completely new range for the prancing horse: a 2+2 V8. In many ways, California is a car of firsts for Ferrari.
California is the first Ferrari to feature a front-mounted V8 engine as well as the first to feature a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
Despite its obvious beauty, accented with customary Italian curves, with any Ferrari the best engineering is saved for the parts you don’t see. Under its elongated hood rests a 4.3-liter V8 which screams with delight every time you put your foot to the floor.
Ferrari says California’s V8 has 453 horsepower at the rear wheels, slightly less than the mid-engine F430, but the two cars run 0-60 in only 3.9 seconds, with California catching up because of its dual-clutch setup.
On the outside, California is the first Ferrari to feature a retractable hardtop, with previous Ferraris all going with the canvas open-air design, but the innovations in California’s engineering don’t end there.
Continuing in the new tradition of Ferrari firsts, California has two more features never seen before in its line of personal supercars: rear multi-link suspension and direct fuel injection, improving its performance and fuel economy.
But if you’ve got the cake to afford a Ferrari, fueling it is the least of your concerns.
California will be one of the highest-production Ferraris in history, with a second factory built next to the current facility in Maranello by Ferrari’s parent company, Fiat, to accommodate 5,000 vehicles in the first two years of production.
Despite only being recently made available to the public, California is already receiving acclaim from the automotive press, as it was named ‘Convertible of the Year’ by the duPont Registry in 2008.
California is one of ten Ferraris available in the Ferrari Pack for Need for Speed SHIFT, exclusive to Xbox 360 owners. Take one for a spin today.
