64 auto italia
his 2010 California three years ago. He told us: "I could
buy a 430 Spider for the same money at the time, and
while my heart said buy the 430, my head steered me
towards the California.
"I chose the California as it's used mainly for
European touring, in which it excels. My wife and I have
been away for two weeks at a time and the car copes
quite happily. We can fit two small suitcases in the
boot with the roof down, and two bags go behind the
front seats. This is a car that's extremely usable, easy
to drive, comes with all mod cons and is good value".
Doug's verdict tallies with that of Peter Churchley,
who owns the California T in our pictures. Says Peter: "I
had an F430 before this, and in comparison the
California is a world away. The technology is much
more full-on and the different modes ensure you can
set the car up for your mood; there's a world of
difference between each of the different settings. It's a
relaxing GT if you want it to be, or the California can be
a proper sports car if that's what you want.
"Most of the miles that my wife and I have done so
far have been on European road trips, which the car isahead of its replacement, the Portofino,
arriving in 2018. It’s estimated that perhaps as
many as 19,000 Californias of all types were made.
For some, any Ferrari with a V8 should have its
powerplant in the middle, so the California was always
going to be challenged by enthusiasts. But Ferrari has
a pretty decent record with front-engined cars, and
also when it comes to setting up an engaging chassis,
and with the engine set well back to create more of a
front/mid-engined layout, and by using a transaxle, a
near-perfect weight distribution of 47 per cent front,
53 per cent rear was achieved. However, pushing the
powertrain back meant compromises elsewhere.
While the California is sometimes perceived as a 2+2,
the back seats are only really suitable for luggage or
very small children.
What isn't a compromise is the fitment of an
aluminium folding roof, which was claimed by Ferrari to
be lighter than a fabric alternative. As a result, despite
the car weighing over 200kg more than an F430 Spider
(and being 30hp down), it could get to 60mph from rest
in just under four seconds, thanks largely to some
honing of the dual-clutch transmission and its
controlling electronics.
Those electronics are adjustable via the manettino
on the steering wheel, allowing the driver to control
the gearbox, stability and traction control systems
(CST and F1-Trac) and the SCM suspension system.
There are three settings: Comfort (keeping all of the
safety nets on), Sport (providing maximum
performance and stability in ideal conditions) and
CST-off (switching off all electronic intervention
apart from ABS).
There's a wide central power band that flexes its
muscles from 3000rpm all the way up to the red line at
8000rpm, but few California owners seem to exercise
their cars hard; if they want white-knuckle thrills they
tend to buy something mid-engined instead. More
typical is someone like Doug Watkinson, who boughtON THE ROAD
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