Californication

They say you can please some of your customers all of the time, all of your customers some of the time, but has Ferrari found a way to please all of their customers all of the time? Well that might be a stretch, but meet the closest thing to it. The all-new Ferrari California T.

But it wasn’t always that way. In fact, it was quite the opposite. To the point that after driving it back in 2009, I wrote: 

“Criticized for being too mainstream, the California is arguably the company’s most most controversial model, and it has some loyalists hopping mad. Aside from being the very first Ferrari with an electronic retractable roof, they demand to know why the engine is in front if it is ‘only’ a V8, and want someone to explain how it can have the power of a third world dictator, but the manners of Kofi Annan. And they want to know who’s idea it was to give it some decent luggage room.”

Basically the gripe was that the California had tried to be too much to too many, which goes against every single rule in the old boys club. But 10,000 units later, the prodigal son was able to achieve what no other Ferrari has, and become the most successful model ever made; and as the last one rolled off the factory floor in Maranello to a 21 wheel gun salute, a new one arrived to a hero’s welcome. 

“There’s nothing carried over from the previous model except for the name. Oh, and the roof assembly.” Ferrari executives bragged last week during the International media test-drive in Siena, Italy.

The most notable of those changes is the turbocharged engine —Ferrari’s first in 20 years. Not counting this year’s F1 car of course. It uses a completely new engine with twin scroll turbo chargers with specific compact turbines that pump out a very impressive 560hp, or more importantly, 755nm of delicious torque that is so tasty, Ferrari serves it to you over 4 courses. Let me explain.

Basically, the idea here was, rather than dump it all on your plate from standstill, Ferrari release ‘just’ 620nm or so up until 3rd gear. Then slowly, as you gain more traction, start releasing more torque in 4th, 5th, 6th, until they open the floodgates in 7th.

At first I was a bit disappointed. I mean, who wouldn’t want all that torque on your fork from the get go. You pay for it, you get to play with it, right? After all, if I wanted fine dining I would get a Bentley, but Ferrari is fast food, baby. And I want it as hot as possible.

But as I nailed that loud pedal to the firewall, it all starts to make sense. Yes you lose the urgency that you get from a 458, or even the previous California, but after about a hundred or so, when others tend to start running short on breath, the 3.7-liter V8 starts to really pour it on thick and builds into this relentless slingshot that piles on enough speed to leave a smile on even an F12 owner’s face. 

The idea of 755nm on tap is charming, sure, but because you’re only as good as what you can put on the ground, it would be pointless to have it all at once and have the electronics retarding all those newton meters anyway. This is why even though it may be technically faster to a hundred than the previous California, it doesn’t actually feel that way. But after it cracks a ton, it goes from 3rd to 4th, to 5th, to 6th, to 7, to heaven in under 10 seconds. 

Ferrari have also worked tirelessly to eliminate turbo lag and create a seamless power band by using the twin scroll turbo chargers, newly designed pistons, twin cooling oil jets, specific compact turbines, and a heavily revised 7 speed DCT that is designed to work specifically with the new power curve. It is so smooth and so fast that the only lag you’re likely to get here is jet lag. In fact, aside from the sound of the waste gate, there’s no way you would know you were driving a turbo. 

But as impressive as it is, all that is worth squat if you haven’t got a soundtrack to back it up. Insert F1 dig here. And Ferrari understands that at the heart of every Ferrari experience is the sound. So the engineers designed a flat crankshaft with three-piece cast exhaust headers with equal length pipes that really completes the whole experience.

With either the top up or down, the lower pitched bark still fills the cabin and taunts you into pushing her just that little bit harder each time. It’s easy to get carried away, especially now that the top speed has improved and 0-200 arrives 2.6 seconds quicker, so Ferrari sharpened up the steering by making it 10 percent quicker, gave it a faster ECU, 12 percent stiffer springs and new damper settings. Plus they beefed up the brakes by using a different carbon ceramic compounds that stop up to two meters better from 200-0.

The overall result is a faster, tighter, lighter and mightier California that really gives Ferrari owners the best of both worlds. If there’s any fault in this car it is that they have made it too easy, perhaps, and taken away the ‘blowfish factor’ of owning a super car. But if you’re not one that needs danger involved in the menu to enjoy your meal, then the new California T is an absolute jewel.

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For a complete set of pictures and a video of the author’s drive in Tuscany, log on to www.jamesdeakin.ph