Ferrari California 2015 review
Ferrari California T in its latest version was launched in Australia over a year ago. The instant reaction from wealthy Australians was so strong that all tickets were sold out. Now we were finally able to get into one of them for a road test.
Design
Created by the Ferrari Design Center in partnership with Pininfarina, the California T is a sensational Italian supercar. The front end features the narrow lighting housings typical of Ferrari's latest range. They work very well on the long hood of this front-engined machine. The dual air intakes on the hood are much neater than on the outgoing California, in our opinion.
Top-up or top-down - the transition takes only 14 seconds - the new California looks equally good. However, raising or lowering the roof is much noisier than we would like.
Improved aerodynamics means that the drag coefficient has been reduced to 0.33. This is nothing special compared to typical road cars, but keep in mind that downforce is vital for any car going over 300 km/h, so a value of 0.33 makes sense.
The seats are strictly 2+2, and rear-seat comfort is limited to small children or very young adults, and then only for short trips.
The luggage compartment can be expanded by folding down the rear seatbacks to gain access to bulky items such as golf bags or skis.
Engine / Transmission
Ferrari California T is equipped with a 3.9-liter turbocharged V8 engine. It produces 412 kW (550 horsepower) at an incredibly high 7500 rpm. The maximum torque is 755 Nm at 4750 rpm. These figures encourage enthusiastic drivers to keep the tachometer needle in the upper range, and the engine sounds to perfection. Love it.
The transmission is a seven-speed automatic transmission with a sport setting to the rear wheels. Manual shifts are carried out using paddle shifters. However, the paddles are fixed to the steering column and do not rotate with the steering wheel. Not our favorite way to do this - we prefer to fix our hands at a quarter past nine on the handlebars and have the oars in line with that.
Like other recent Ferraris, it has an elaborate F1-style steering wheel with a lot of features. These include Ferrari's patented "manettino dial", which allows you to select driving modes.
Features
Satellite navigation is carried out through a 6.5-inch touch screen or buttons. USB ports are located in the compartment under the armrest.
Buyers who spend $409,888 plus travel expenses can head to Italy to watch their California T being assembled at the factory and see if a million or so custom functions are being completed. Our California T cost $549,387 after someone in the press department ticked a lot of boxes on a big list of options. The largest item was a specialty paint job, priced at just over $20,000.
Driving
The V8 is at the front, but located behind the axle, so it is classified as medium. The weight distribution is 47:53 front to rear, which provides excellent balance and allows you to confidently and safely reach high speeds in corners.
In addition, the engine is located 40mm lower in the chassis than in the replaced Ferrari California to lower the center of gravity.
The California T accelerates from 100 to 3.6 km/h in just 200 seconds, accelerates to 11.2 km/h in just 316 seconds, and reaches a top speed of XNUMX km/h, preferably on the race track, although daring drivers on roads with unlimited traffic in the Northern Territory may want to have go there.
The engine sound is everything you'd expect from a Ferrari: high revs at start-up, slightly uneven thump throughout the range, rev-matching revs approaching a frenzied note the closer you get to the redline. Then there are spitting and burping when downshifting and over-revving to match the downshift. This all probably sounds childish to non-driver readers, but enthusiastic guys and girls will definitely get what we're talking about!
Accelerates to 100 km/h in just 3.6 seconds, accelerates to 200 km/h in just 11.2 seconds and reaches a top speed of 316 km/h.
Ergonomic controls and well-placed instruments, as well as a large rev counter right in front of the driver, make it easy to get the most out of this Italian supercar.
Handling is fully matched to the potential of the V8 turbo engine. Suspension and steering engineers have been hard at work creating a system that requires less steering effort than before. Reduces body roll and improves handling as you approach the vehicle's limits.
Ride comfort is pretty good for a car in this class, although there have been times when road noise has gotten a bit intrusive. The M1 motorway between the Gold Coast and Brisbane is notoriously bad in this respect and did our fast red Ferrari no good.
Official fuel consumption is 10.5 l/100 km on a combined city/highway cycle. We found our car (wish it!) sat in the low 20s when we had a real ride, but only used in the 9 to 11 liter range when driving on motorways at 110 km/h.
Ferrari tells us that the traction control upgrade allows the new California T to accelerate out of corners about eight percent faster than the outgoing model. It's hard to judge this without serious testing on the track - Ferrari condemns what we, journalists, do in private. Suffice to say, it definitely felt very confident on the quiet back roads that are part of our regular road testing routine.
Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes use a new pad material that delivers consistent performance in all conditions and is less prone to wear. This, plus the latest ABS braking system, allows the fabulous Ferrari to stop from 100 km/h in just 34 m.
The Ferrari California in its latest version has harder edges than the original. Pretty much a driver's car, it gives us everything we love about engine and suspension dynamics. It's all wrapped up in a beautiful test car body, probably the best red hue we've ever had the pleasure of testing.
