With the California, Ferrari is aiming to broaden its appeal to new, more conservative customers - but it's still a sports car underneath. Kyle Fortunefinds it to his liking
THE QUESTION is thrown out there: "So what's the California's lap time around Fiorano?" The time around Ferrari's test track in Maranello has long been a marker of where the car sits in the range. Ferrari's spokesman politely avoids the question, suggesting that the California isn't the kind of car where people will care about lap times.
He's got a point. The California is something of a new direction for Ferrari, the drop-top aiming to broaden the appeal of the brand to new, more conservative customers. The California isn't a scalpel-sharp sports car aimed at the sort of people who might go to the odd track day in their car; that's the job of the F430, and, if you're really serious, the 430 Scuderia or 430 Challenge race cars. The California represents an alternative to the F430, its pricing sitting between the F430 coupé and Spider. The California is both - a folding aluminium hardtop allowing it to turn from coupé to roadster in just 14 seconds, which Ferrari claims is faster than its competition.
That folding hardtop is new to Ferrari, and the trick roof is not the only first to feature on the California. It's a front-engined car, making the California the first Ferrari to have a V8 - itself significant, as it comes with direct injection - positioned in front of the driver, while multi-link rear suspension and LED lighting front and rear are also firsts. The gearbox is all-new too, Ferrari leaving its F1 Superfast robotised paddle-shift manual on the shelf and instead fitting the California with an all-new twin-clutch, paddle-shift transmission with seven gears.
With the California aiming at a less hardcore customer, that seven-speed transmission is key. It does everything Ferrari's traditional paddle-shifters do, such as rifling through gears manually when you take control via the steering-column mounted paddles but, crucially, it works just like a conventional automatic when you don't want to change gears yourself.
That might sound like Ferrari is going soft, but the California isn't a boulevard cruiser like many of its drop-top rivals; there's still a sports car underneath that's pure Ferrari.
The 4.3-litre engine might be in an unfamiliar position for a V8 Ferrari, but it's a familiar unit. A development of that in the F430 - and hence a relation to the V8s that power Maserati's range and Alfa's 8C Competizione - the California's engine might share the same capacity as its F430 relative, but it has got a different bore and stroke. That's down to the addition of direct injection, this allowing Ferrari to better manage the engine, to the benefit of economy and emissions. It develops 454bhp at 7,750rpm, which is comfortably above 100bhp per litre, while Ferrari claims that the 112Nm per litre torque figure (for a maximum of 485Nm) is a record for a naturally aspirated car.
This all adds up to some excellent performance figures: the California sprints to 100km/h in less than four seconds and onto a 310km/h maximum. That's particularly impressive, given its 1,735kg kerb weight. What's more so is that it's able to return an official combined consumption figure of 13.1 l/100km and CO2 emissions of 305g/km - which might not sound so brilliant until you compare the significantly faster California to Maserati's GranTurismo S, which drinks three litres more super unleaded for every 100km and emits almost 25 per cent more CO2.
It sounds like a Ferrari should too. The California's V8 might be more cultured than its F430 relative at lower revs, but it betrays its lineage with an underlying rich metallic rasp when reaching for its 8,000rpm red line. If there's one complaint it's that it may be a bit too vocal for the more conservative customers Ferrari is aiming the California at. Perhaps Ferrari should have included a bypass system on the exhaust that could be accessed on the steering wheel Manettino switch.
As on all recent Ferraris, the Manettino switch allows you to choose your level of electronic intervention from the traction and stability systems. Choose Comfort and the electronics keep a pretty tight reign on your exuberance; Sport allows you more freedom before intervening; and "CST off" leaves the California's destiny down to your ability behind the wheel.
Ferrari isn't lying when it says that the California is easier to drive, either. Turning the switch to "CST off" reveals a chassis with such natural poise and balance that even at the extremes of its traction and grip it feels wonderfully progressive and friendly. There's none of the snappy, sometimes nervous responses you'll get in a mid-engined car.
The ride is outstanding too; the optional (but must-have) magnetic dampers allow the California to deliver precise response, phenomenal body control yet a cosseting ride.
The steering could do with a touch more feel perhaps, and the brakes need a good shove before the big ceramic discs bite, but the California eclipses anything in its class for driver appeal.
Where it falls flat is in its looks. There's no denying that the folding roof gives the California's tail a heavy look, while some of the details are excessive. It's not an instantly pretty Ferrari, then.
The good news is the interior is Ferrari's best yet, with some beautiful touches, sensational leatherwork and quite a massive boot for a sports car with a folding drop-top. Forget the rear "seats" though; even Ferrari doesn't dare call its new car a 2+2, instead referring to it as a "2+". Plus what exactly? Certainly not people.
Otherwise, the California is a triumph - a Ferrari that's genuinely useable yet still brilliant to drive. And if you must know, the word is that it'll lap Fiorano about two seconds slower than an F430. But like Ferrari says, people won't care, and really they shouldn't.
Factfile: Ferrari California
Engine: 4.3-litre V8 petrol
Peak power: 454bhp at 7,750rpm
Peak torque: 485Nm at 5,000rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed twin-clutch paddle-shift transmission with automatic mode
Performance: 0-100km/h: under 4.0 seconds
Top speed: 310km/h
Emissions: 305g/km CO2
Combined cycle fuel economy: 13.1 litres/100km
Price: about €350,000