The Ferrari California made its debut in 2008 and is the company’s 2+2 hardtop convertible. It is a front engine, rear wheel drive grand touring sports car and was the first vehicle in four decades that did not carry an alphanumeric appendage.
The California is powered by a 4.3L V8 delivering 454 HP and 358 lb-ft of torque. This engine can be mated to either a six-speed manual transmission or the company’s first seven-speed dual clutch automatic transmission.
Recently, we were able to catch a strange-looking Ferrari California prototype testing around Maranello with a strange bulb on the hood and different air intakes, leading us to think of only one thing: a turbo engine. At first, we thought that it may be a future GTO or Scuderia version of the new California, but British magazine, AutoCar, is now reporting that this prototype is actually the new Handling Speciale package. This package will offer significant upgrades to the vehicle’s steering, dampers, and springs, as well as a little power boost.
The Handling Speciale’s power upgrade starts with tweaks made to the ECU system and the addition of a new alloy intake manifold, which together add an extra 28 HP and 15 lb-ft of torque. That will leave the California with 483 HP and 372 lbs-ft for customers to utilize to their hearts’ content. The new California Handling Speciale will also offer reprogrammed control software for the magnetorheological dampers and lower-friction seals in the Delphi-supplied dampers that will allow the suspension to respond up to 50% faster to bumps.
Along with the extra bump in the hood and the modified air intakes, the Ferrari California’s exterior will also receive a dark chrome trim for the grille and side air vents.
Expect the new Ferrari California Handling Speciale to debut in February 2012.
The Ferrari California isn’t the newest model in Ferrari’s line-up, so there typically isn’t any reason to splatter news about it on the front page. That is, until a celebrity decides to do a little Black Friday shopping in a Ferrari dealership.
Paris Hilton has chosen a bright red Ferrari California as an early Christmas present for herself and, although we think the 460 HP California is an amazing supercar, we have to wonder why she opted for this particular model and not for Ferrari’s newest roadster model: the 570 HP 459 Italia Spyder. Maybe she’s had her fill of the super speedy since she just received a 560 HP Lexus LF-A for her 30th birthday. Or maybe she just got a really good Black Friday deal. Either way, this beautiful, red Ferrari California has just joined the elite group of amazing vehicles owned by Hilton’s princess.
While there doesn’t appear to be anything "regular" about a Ferrari California, it’s also important to know that tuning companies like DMC can still take something as "regular" as this Italian supercar and turn it into a monstrous piece of carbon fiber mayhem.
The Dusseldorf-based tuning company has come out with special aerodynamic and performance upgrades that would make any fan of the Prancing Horse drool with envy. Heck, they even have a pretty slick name for it: the Surfista Silver Star!
The program carries plenty of carbon fiber as DMC made sure to use the expensive material on the body kit, including a new silver carbon fiber splitter on the front, one that improves downforce at high speeds. In addition to that, DMC also added a sliver carbon fiber rear diffuser that minimizes the upforce on the rear axle, a new carbon fiber apron, new carbon fiber side skirts, and a new set of 21" and 22" wheels courtesy of ADV1 Wheels.
On the engine front, DMC modified the California’s 4,297 cc V8 engine by using a turbo-loader with physically enlarged injection nozzles and adding a new tailor made crankshaft and a new exhaust system that’s made of T309 stainless steel. These modifications boosted the supercar’s output from the standard 460 horsepower all the way up to 606 horsepower. Translate that to performance figures and you have a supercar that can hit 0-62 mph in 3.9 seconds while reaching a top speed of 202 mph.
The fact that Ferrari is preparing a more powerful version of the Ferrari California should not be a surprise to anyone. That’s the funny thing about tradition; it’s predictable. At some point or another, every other Ferrari model has received a more powerful engine - even if only as a special edition - so the California will be no exception.
Our spy photographers have caught a strange Ferrari California prototype testing around Maranello with a special feature on its front hood, or rather, under its hood. This prototype was caught with a strange bulb on the hood and different air intakes, leading us to think of only one thing: a turbo engine. Especially since the spy photographers also said that the engine sounded like a turbo and that the engineers on the race track had to remove the cover on the lower end of the hood to ensure that the engine would get enough cooling.
The only question we have is if this new, more powerful California will be penned a Scuderia or a GTO. Whichever name christens this sports car will probably only be revealed after we see the facelift California rumored to debut sometime in late 2011.
Ferrari launched the California GT back in 2008 at the Paris Auto Show, but for the 2012 model year, the California will get some special treatment in the form of a big update. The model will be about 66 lbs lighter and will deliver an additional 30 HP. Both the exterior and interior will also be improved.
The new 2012 Ferrari California will be powered by the same 4.3 liter V8 engine, but will get new software and improved machining of the internals to achieve the 30 HP boost. This increase will bring the output up to a total of 483 HP and 373 lb-ft of torque. And since it is also 66 lbs lighter, performance will get a bump as well. The revised California will make the sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 3.85 seconds (down from 4.0 seconds).
Next to the technical improvements, the 2012 California will receive a few exterior and interior updates, including a bigger hard drive for the in-car entertainment system, 40 GB up from the current 30.
The new California will go into production in January 2012, making a debut in late 2011 a necessity.
