Exhaust modification for the California possible?

When the California was launched in 2008 her original "arrière" was one of the main discussion issues among voyeurs, like if she was a Brasilian girl in a very tiny bikini swinging her rear at the beat of a samba. The vertical stacked twin tailpipes and the boot were called "an original flourish" and like everything that's original there is always hate and love in the air. Personally I like the vertical stacked tailpipes because I think they give an exotic looking to the Cali rear but, I also like, the horizontal stacked tailpipes on the Cali T and I think they fit really well the rear bumper and diffuser design.

Below I post two pictures , one of my 2010 Cali and another of the Cali T, and as you'll see the rear bumpers and diffusers are very different. Finally and that's very important, there are aerodynamical reasons for the Cali vertical stacked pipes and Pininfarina/Ferrari studied the subject in great depth at the wind tunnel. I suppose there are no aftermarket kits for the modification you want but in the event of someone proposing such a thing beware of the fact that it will alter all the original aerodynamic parameters specially at high speed.
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You can always change bodywork if you have enough money to spend but I haven't seen any aftermarket kits for what you are suggesting. It is of course a matter of personal taste and perhaps also a matter of whether you appreciate the design lineage of Ferrari cars. You may feel differently when you view the designs with perspective to earlier Fcars.

Ferrari has a habit of trickling down design cues from their mid-engine V8 and front-engine V12 cars. The California is a new class of Fcars and has benefited from design cues from separate lineages. This is how the 2 rear designs came to be.

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Here are the rear designs for the F50 and Enzo (F60).

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When I compared my car next to the CaliT at the initial CaliT introduction test drive event I recognized the 599 GTO rear of the new car immediately. Given its GTO lineage it certainly has some attractive aggressive elements but on balance I preferred the stacked pipes because twin pipes looks more aggressive when viewed from the sides and is unique, giving it a more exotic look. It also looks more integrated whereas the GTO-style black underside looks tacked on. Side-by-side paired pipes are very common nowadays and you can find that look on everyday inexpensive street cars. While it may be viewed as a compliment, it also detracts from the exotic nature of an Fcar and occasionally a low-end car can even appear to pull it off in a more polished manner.

But in the end, visual appearance always boils down to a matter of personal taste.
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Congratulations Michael I loved it what a great explanation about Ferrari cars design evolution and details many of them not evident to the average owner.

 

IMHO the Cali is nice looking, but the Cali T is fantastic looking!

 

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Reviving this thread... like the OP from way back when, I too am considering a California (non-T) and I can't get over the stacked exhaust either.

Has anyone come up with a different option? I'd be cool with anything (single tip, dual tips side-by-side) but the stacked exhaust is the only design element I can't come to grips with.

Thanks in advance... hopefully I can post in this section soon. Drove a new Portofino a few months ago, I was very impressed. Part of me wants to splurge for that but a used California is such a good buy at this point I can't justify the MSRP of a new Portofino, regardless of how much better it is. I appreciate those who can as I will pick up a barely used Portofino in 5-10 years for half price as well!

Anyway, any help for the California exhaust aesthetics or are we stuck with the stacked exhaust look?

 

It's not difficult for a muffler/exhaust fabricator to make one larger tailpipe from the two, from the same muffler because it has adequate clearance, but you will also have to replace the 2-hole grills with custom, single-hole grills. The trick is to make it all actually look better than the original and to do it so well that it looks like it came from the factory.

However, I always suggest people to leave things alone for a few months before deciding to do a mod. We may think we know what to do but don't actually have sufficient 1st-hand exposure to it or own the object yet. Until you own and use it for a while, and realize what you may be giving up and what you have to do to change it, your thoughts are just untested ideas and impressions. Referring to other people's camera views is a very unreliable way to assess aesthetics because cameras do not capture reality - they only interpret reality. You have to live with these objects to get a full sense of aesthetics.

So I suggest living with it for a season, think about it, locate the expertise you need for a high quality mod and then plan carefully. The safer approach is to buy used parts and modify those.

 

For God’s sakes, every time I stop for gas or at a stop light somebody tells me how beautiful my plain Jane 2011 California is and I agree with them. Stacked, horizontal doesn’t matter. Only says what generation it is. It is a real FCar no matter what anyone says, Ferrari engine, Ferrari transmission, Pininfarina body, Ferrari interior with diamond stitching.
They are all what everybody wants. ENJOY IT!

 

I looked at a California in Arizona that had had been modified to 2 single outlets and honestly it
looked ugly and I didn’t care for it at all

 

Sophia Loren was not perfect but she did not need any “work” done.

 

Based on these side by sides pics alone... the original Cali, is the FAR better looking car...
it’s lines are just beautiful

 

If you're looking for a witness from the congregation, I'm here to say "Hallelujah! Preach It Brother Nick!"
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