The Ferrari California is a grand touring sports car

Grand tourer

A grand tourer is a high-performance luxury automobile designed for long-distance driving. The most common format is a two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement....

 that was launched by Ferrari

Ferrari

Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...

 at the 2008 Paris Motor Show

2008 Paris Motor Show

The 2008 Paris Motor Show took place from 4 October to 19 October 2008, in Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles.This edition of the Paris Motor Show featured a high number of hybrid and electric vehicles , a tectonic shift that led a New York Times blogger to ask, "Who killed the non-electric cars?".-...

. It is a two door "2+2" hard top convertible. The California is powered by front-mid mounted gasoline direct injection

Gasoline direct injection

In internal combustion engines, gasoline direct injection , also known as petrol direct injection or direct petrol injection, is a variant of fuel injection employed in modern two-stroke and four-stroke gasoline engines...

 4.3 l (262.2 cu in) V8

V8 engine

A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....

 with 460 PS. The car revives the "California" name used for the late-1950s Ferrari 250 GT.

According to industry rumors, the California originally started as a concept for a new Maserati

Maserati

Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...

, but the resulting expense to produce the car led the Fiat Group to badge it as a Ferrari in order to justify the high cost of purchase; the company denies this, however. The California represents a new, fourth model range for the company.

Production

The California will be built in a new production line adjacent to the existing factory at Maranello

Maranello

Maranello is a town and comune in the region of Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy, 18 km from Modena, with a population of 16,841 as of 2009. It is best known as the home of Ferrari S.p.A. and the Scuderia Ferrari Formula One racing team...

. The existing production line produces 27 cars per day, or 6,000 per annum. Ferrari plans to produce 5,000 Californias in the first two years of production, thereby increasing Ferrari production by 50% with introduction of this nameplate. The California, according to many motoring magazines, is sold out until 2011, with 60% of buyers being new to the Ferrari marque.

Design

The California represents a number of firsts for Ferrari:

• The first front engined Ferrari with a V8
• The first to feature a 7-speed dual clutch transmission
  Semi-automatic transmission
  A semi-automatic transmission is an automobile transmission that does not change gears automatically, but rather facilitates manual gear changes by dispensing with the need to press...
  
  
• The first with a folding metal roof
• The first with multi-link rear suspension
  Multi-link suspension
  A multi-link suspension is a type of vehicle suspension design typically used in independent suspensions, using three or more lateral arms, and one or more longitudinal arms....
  
  
• The first with direct petrol injection

Bosch produced the direct injection system. The engine displaces 4,297 cubic centimeters, delivering 338 kilowatts (460 horsepower) at 7,750 revs per minute, with a the maximum torque is 485 Newton meters at 5,000 revs per minute. The resulting 107 horsepower per litre of engine displacement is one of the highest for a naturally aspirated engine, as other manufacturers have used supercharging or turbocharging to reach similar power levels.

Performance

The California has a top speed of 310 kilometre per hour and it can accelerate from zero to 100 kilometre per hour in 3.4 seconds. Although 180 kilograms (397 lb) heavier and 30 PS less powerful than the mid-engined F430

Ferrari F430

The Ferrari F430 is a sports car that was produced by the Italian automaker Ferrari from 2004 to 2009, as a successor to the 360. It debuted at the 2004 Paris Motor Show...

, the California reaches 60 mi/h in the same time as the F430 due to the dual-clutch transmission.

Aerodynamics

Ferrari spent over 1,000 hours in the wind tunnel with a one-third-scale model of the California perfecting its aerodynamics. With the top up, the California has a drag coefficient

Drag coefficient

In fluid dynamics, the drag coefficient is a dimensionless quantity that is used to quantify the drag or resistance of an object in a fluid environment such as air or water. It is used in the drag equation, where a lower drag coefficient indicates the object will have less aerodynamic or...

of 0.32, making it the most aerodynamic Ferrari ever made.

External links

• Ferrari California official website
• Photoshoot of a Ferrari California