Ferrari California

When designing the Ferrari California, Pininfarina opted for a classic, sculpted chassis, with a long bonnet and the passenger area slightly weighted towards the rear. The Ferrari California is ideal for those looking for a highly exclusive sports car, that consider driving enjoyment a value to pursue on every occasion: a weekend out of town, a long journey, shopping in the city, or simply getting to the office.

The rear baggage space has a capacity which is unique for a convertible of this type. The boot, for the first time, connects directly to the rear bench or seats via the folding seat-back. Ferrari once again turned to its historical partner Pininfarina for the design of the California. The result was muscular, flowing, sculpted lines where considerable attention was paid to ensuring perfect proportions and harmoniously balanced volumes with the roof up or down. Work on defining the styling was undertaken in close collaboration with Ferrari's own in-house Styling Centre, and great emphasis was placed on characterizing the design and function of every individual detail to confer an immediate and lasting sense of quality and bespoke craftsmanship. The sides are characterised by a strong dynamic line rising to the level of the door handle, to create a powerful and muscular outline of the rear wheel arch, in line with the car's character. The waist is high, while convex and concave surfaces follow each other with pleasing fluidity. The nose, which takes up the characteristics of the side and rear lines, has the teardrop lighting cluster and the slatted radiator grill typical of Ferrari. The slender air intake vent on the bonnet and the side air vents both echo distinctive features of the 1957 Ferrari California 250.

Built entirely from aluminium, it retains the typical Ferrari architecture with a 90° angle between the two cylinder banks and a 180° angle between the cranks. The engine has a total displacement of 4,300 cc and a maximum power output of 460 hp/338 kW at 7,750 rpm. With a specifi c power of 107 hp/litre, its maximum torque is 485 Nm (49 kgm) at 5,000 rpm, 75% of which is available at just 2,250 rpm. The Ferrari California takes less than 4 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h and delivers a blistering 310 km/h top speed.

The new V8 features direct fuel injection and variable timing (on both intake and exhaust) to guarantee superb performance, exceptional handling and fuel consumption and emissions that easily comply with the toughest Euro 5 and Lev2 standards. Thanks in part to these solutions, the Ferrari California consumes just 13.1 litres/100 km (ECE combined) and has carbon emissions of 305.6 gkm (ECE combined).

The California’s engine sound was also carefully developed as this is one of the great Ferrari signatures and really does contribute to enhancing driving pleasure. Particular attention was lavished on sound perception in the cabin both with the top up and down to ensure that trademark thrill without compromising on occupant acoustic comfort.

The system, further optimised to best fit the characteristics of the new GT, is the result of the experience built up over the years in the racing world.

It allows even less experienced drivers to get the most out of the car's potential in terms of performance on bends, safety and stability. The multilink system improves longitudinal fl exibility of the suspension, keeping transverse rigidity values high.

The Ferrari California retains the traditional double wishbone suspension to the front while a new multilink system has been specially developed for the rear.

The multilink system improves longitudinal fl exibility of the suspension, keeping transverse rigidity values high. What this means in practice is that the car beautifully absorbs any unevenness, and noise and vibration are effi ciently damped for exceptional ride comfort well on a par with the car’s nimble handling.

The SCM Magnetorheological Suspension Control System, debuted on the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, is also available on request.

Getting onboard one immediately notices the high quality of its materials, together with the traditional skills of the craftsmen who have selected the finest leather to cover the dash, the interior and the seats with couture precision.

The seats can be adjusted in every conceivable way to give any driver exactly the right position. The back-rest structure is in magnesium, designed to achieve the maximum in comfort and ergonomics while reducing weight at the same time.

The new infotainment system, with its 6.5-inch touch-screen display and its intuitive controls, offers maximum functionality and ease of use. The designers of the Ferrari California started out with a precise and ambitious objective: to create a GT with no limitations to its use. Perfect for sports driving but also suitable for long journeys and trips to town. For work or for pleasure. A car 4.56 metres long, with the space to comfortably seat a driver or passenger which represent more than the 99 percentile of the population's stature, and making possible the novel 2+ configuration with a large useable space behind the rear seats. The car allows, on request, a rear seating area with two seats and Isofix attachments, indicated for hosting two children.

Alternatively, one can request a bench with the space for storing two travel trolleys or two light golf bags. In both versions there is, for the first time in a Ferrari, a fold-down rear seat-back, allowing the California to be used in different situations by linking the cockpit with the spacious 340-litre boot, which becomes 240 litres with the roof down. When folded down, the hard-top takes up only 100 of the 340 litres in the luggage compartment, thus saving plenty of storage capacity. A wide opening of the luggage compartment level with the bottom simplifies the various operations. The large amount of space available allows two large and two small suitcases to be accommodated or, with the seat back folded down, golf bags, skis, or snowboards.