Cause To Celebrate, If You're Very Rich That Is.

The article in evo. didn't start out well. Harry Metcalf had gone to Italy to see what the deal was with Ferrari's new California model. It's a car that has a lot of people worried because it looks, on the surface, to be a major step in the dumbing-down of the sports car. I myself have raised serious reservations in this very blog, and while I found some of them to be overturned by the article, it seemed to raise as many issues as it addressed. Harry liked the look of the car upon seeing it in the metal, and likened it less to a convertible, than to a coupe that has a folding roof.

The engineers at Ferrari had encouraging things to say as well, telling Metcalf that keeping the new car fun to drive was a high priority, giving a good account of their reasoning on giving the car a dual-clutch transmission. They also showed Harry the extent to which they went in keeping weight off the new car, which included structural use of Magnesium. They even went as far as to admit that many Ferrari's of late haven't done a good enough job of transmitting their voice to the cabin, and showed the steps they'd taken to correct the situation. All very encouraging.

But then they go to the exhaust. It's not the fact that the exhaust has been tuned to keep some of its racket from permeating the cockpit with the roof down, that's fine with me. It's that the exhaust outlets stacked under the rear bumper in their now familiar fashion, aren't real. The real pipes are placed deep inside the dummies, and are much smaller. It's not that I'm criticizing Ferrari for making smaller exhausts if that was what was needed for the car to function as desired, it's the jewelry aspect of the fakes with which I take issue. the car was designed from the start as a car that could reasonably be taken on weekend trips and a quiet exhaust on the highway is desirable for that kind of car, but this fakery just smacks of boulevard posing.

Then there's the matter of weight. I'm not going to beat around the bush, the car is too heavy, and a pure hardtop version can't arrive soon enough. I think that most of the ridiculous 1700kg/3750lb that the car carries can be put down to that folding hard-top, and the extra bracing necessary for an open car. I'm sure Ferrari can make the car go, stop, and turn well enough despite this handicap, but it would have been better if they'd just ditched the nifty roof, and given drivers more purity.

There are a couple bright spots though, and they're not exactly little ones. The first is that Ferrari are planning an HGTC performance package for the car, which should enable it to hold it's own in track days, and which is somewhat unexpected given the market for the car. The second is still that engine. I have no doubt that Ferrari's first direct-injection power plant is going to be a belter, with great torque across the rev-range. The third though, is the best. Despite all previous statements, Ferrari are going to make available, a conventional manual gearbox for the car. This really is a great thing to hear as Ferrari's abandonment of the conventional manual was a blow to performance car fans everywhere, and had me scared of the potential trickle-down effect that might consign the clutch pedal to the history books.

Now all Ferrari have to do is bolt the roof one tight, and get rid of 300lbs of useless servos...