Luca di Montezemolo is impressed with the new Ferrari California

Unlike some other recent Ferraris, the California Coupe/Spider looks really, really good. We expect to see at least one or two of these cars in India within the next few months!

The new Ferrari California convertible had a special ‘test driver’ behind its wheel recently, as Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo put the car through its paces over several laps at the Fiorano circuit.

‘I am very satisfied indeed. The California is an extraordinary car and I was delighted with the performance, comfort and driving pleasure it delivered. The California is, like all of our models, the epitome of cutting-edge innovation. Its gearbox, suspensions and chassis are the most advanced possible,’ said Luca di Montezemolo.

This is Ferrari’s first dual-purpose Spider/Coupé with a retractable hard top that closes in just 14 seconds. And despite its extraordinary performance, the California is said to be very easy to drive, and has space behind the front seats that makes it flexible in terms of usage.

The latest photographs of the new Pininfarina-styled retractable hard top convertible released yesterday show the car in Azzurro California livery. This was the colour chosen for the legendary 1960s spider’s appearance at the New York Auto Show in 1962 and later proved to be a firm favourite with owners of that model.

Like the rest of the current Prancing Horse range, the Ferrari California has been aerodynamically designed to deliver significant downforce values – 70 kg at 200 km/h, in fact. Also, this is the first time a seven-speed dual clutch has been used on a Ferrari car. This technology is the fruit of in-depth gear shifting systems research by the Scuderia Ferrari. The system utilised on the Ferrari California cuts gear shifting time to zero and enhances the car’s performance in terms of drivability.

Performance is further boosted by the new Launch Control button which, when hit, delivers blistering high performance starts by ensuring correct torque delivery and preventing tyre spin during acceleration.

The luggage capacity of the Ferrari California provides further proof of the versatility of this latest addition to the Prancing Horse range: when the roof is up, the boot has a 360-litre capacity and a 260-litre capacity when it is down. Particular attention was also paid to fuel consumption levels, which in the case of the ECE combined cycle is 13.2 l/100 km, with CO2 emission levels of around 310 g/km.

We bet there will be at least one or two of these brand-new Ferraris roaming the streets of Delhi and Mumbai, within the next few months…!

New Ferrari California: First official pictures released

The all-new 460bhp V8-powered Ferrari California

The pictures you see here are the first official photographs of the new Ferrari California. A sporting GT, the California will only be available as a convertible with a folding hard top. The car’s chassis and bodywork are crafted in aluminium, in line with the rest of Ferrari’s current range.

The Ferrari California is powered by a new 4300cc V8, which is mounted in the mid-front position – a first for Ferrari. The engine makes 460 horsepower at 7500rpm, and is mated to an all-new seven-speed, dual-clutch transmission. The California accelerates from zero to 100km/h in just four seconds, which means performance is very much in line with the Ferrari supercar tradition.

New high-tech bits on the California include multilink rear suspension, F1-Trac traction control system (which made its debut on the 599 GTB Fiorano), and Brembo brakes featuring carbon-ceramic material discs as standard, which guarantee superbly efficient braking in all conditions.

The Ferrari California will be officially unveiled to the public at the upcoming Paris International Car Show. And now that Ferrari is expected to enter the Indian market - perhaps by the year 2010 - we can probably expect the California to also make its way to our shores sometime over the next one or two years...

Ferrari Magic India Discovery Drive returns to Mumbai

The two Ferrari 612 Scagliettis at the flag-off (left) and back at the starting point today (right), after covering more than 13,000km in over 70 days

After covering over 13,000km in over 70 days, the Ferrari Magic India Discovery Drive returned to Mumbai today as scheduled. The cars were received at the Gateway of India, close to the starting point of the drive, in a ceremonial flag-in event.

More than 50 journalists took turns behind the wheels of two Ferrari 612 Scaglietti cars, along 13 difficult stages spread across India, taking in 57 cities in the over 70-day tour. The test proved that modern Ferrari cars can be run on normal roads in India.

The two cars used for the drive had very few modifications done to them – a protective underbody made of 4mm thick duralluminium (rather than the usual plastic) was added, and the suspension was slightly raised, to cope with bad roads. Apart from this, the two 540bhp, V12-engined cars were ‘normal’ Ferraris, and you’ve got to applaud the fact that they came back from the arduous journey unscathed. Vive la Ferrari!

The drive was sponsored by Shell, Tata, Taj Hotels, TCS, Fiat India, Pirelli, Alcoa, and OMR.