I really didn't anticipate the release of Ferrari's new California creating such a firestorm, but then, this isn't the car anyone was expecting. Rumors of a new Dino have been swirling for two years now, and the mules have been lapping the Nurburgring for months. It was supposed to be a small GT, a car to slot in below the 430, and revive thoughts of the beloved Dino 206/246. the car with which we find ourselves confronted is no such animal. It's not a GT, it's a convertible, not even a roadster really, but a 2+2. When I saw the body shape I was convinced that the car was nothing more than a re-bodied Alfa Romeo 8C Competezione, and that it would be using the same engine as well. It turns out to be a different story there as well. In several ways, both good and bad, this is a Ferrari like none we've ever seen.The good is relatively good. Despite some in the press stating that the car is as big a departure for Ferrari as the Cayenne was for Porsche, it's still a sports car, and still has many of the traditional Ferrari hallmarks. It seems to have a good start in the engine bay as well, with 4.3 liters of flat-cranked V8, featuring a direct injection system for increased power and economy. the engine doesn't rev as high as its 430 stablemate (7500rpm plays 8500) but it does look ready to out torque the mid-engine car throughout the rev range. It's also nice to see that Ferrari resisted the temptation to fit the already torquier, and related 4.7liter V8 from the 8C/Maserati Gran Turismo S. The structure too is different from the Alfa's, despite the similarity of market for the cars, and is in fact another of Ferrari's aluminum structures and of course features the folding hard-top. Finally the transmission isn't a revised F1/Cambiocorsa, but an all new twin-clutch 7-speed unit mounted in the trans-axle position at the rear of the car. So all in all, a unique car which should help justify it to brand purists like myself.
The not so good as it happens, takes in a few of the same points, the first one being that new transmission. While I'm sure that the adoption of the twin-clutch system will broaden the market for Ferrari's newest baby, it is the only transmission option being offered at launch and Ferrari aren't making any noises about including a proper manual. I know I'm risking being dubbed a Luddite, but I for one prefer to do my own shifting. It's not that I'm terribly good at it, just the opposite in fact, but when it all comes together and I get a blipped down-shift right while entering a corner, I feel the sense of accomplishment. Simply tugging a paddle, no matter how clever the electronics to which it's hooked, will never have the same appeal. That Ferrari have had to engineer in a bit of brutality to the transmision smacks of gimackery and makes the point that in some ways this technology has gone too far for driving enjoyment.
That folding hard-top is another concern. For one it's heavy, there's really no way of getting around that, and for another the room required to store it makes the back of the car a little bloated and droopy. It ends up looking high-sided with the top down too, which begs the question, "Why not just make a coupe and a soft-top?" It's not as if these two options have suddenly been rendered obsolete by the advent of the converta-coupe, and this Ferrari is further proof. On the plus side the car does at least look pleasingly sleek with the top up, but that's just one more reason that it doesn't need to go down.
Also, let me be clear on one thing. This car is in now way a California. the legendary 250 California Spiders of the late 50s and early 60s were cut-down versions of Ferrari's top flight competition coupes. they had V12s that were a liter smaller than the V8 in this modern car, and where lightweight specials created in order to give weekend racers a competitive car for U.S. west coast events that they could drive to and from the track. The new California seems more to be a car meant for first time Ferrari owners who want a sporty car they can use every day.
In the end, that's what does it for this car as far as I'm concerned. In being neither a cut down 559, nor a new Dino (and in no way reminiscent of the its namesake) it fails to be anything of than a toy for the not so rich and a diluter of brand values. I'm sure Ferrari's engineers have worked very hard and made sure than on many dynamic levels the new California can hold its head up. I'm sure too that it will do its job and introduce Ferrari to new buyers and new markets, aiding in Fiat's quest to up production at its top brand to 10,000 units a year. But I'm equally sure that it won't introduce those buyers to what a Ferrari has traditionally been, and that it will bring down the level of exclusivity and inherent coolness, that has traditionally been a part of the Ferrari mystique, and which has already been threatened by over-merchandising. The California may end up being a good car, but that's not what being a Ferrari is all about.
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