Anyone seen the California at Quail yet?

Please post your impressions if you did!

 

I saw the car Friday afternoon and I like it very much for what it is: an everyday Ferrari. It is better looking than in the pictures I have seen. The front end is really good, the back end is a little tall but that seems to be a reasonable price to pay for the folding hardtop which they raised up to show us how fast it works. The top is very slick engineering. The side is too busy for me but in the flesh it doesn't draw a lot of attention to itself. I liked the headlights and the tail lights. They showed a red/ tan model and I have the feeling that will not be the best color for the car although it may prove to be the most popular. The wheels are ok and there will be a 20" option similar to the challenge wheels. The inside is very nice and the seats and driving position are right on. There seemsed to be lots of headroom with the top up and even more with it down. I talked to a person who has driven the car and he said it is loads of fun. He particularly liked the new transmission and the suspension. Is it a replacement for the 430? No it is not; two very different cars. But if you are like me with a 430 spider for special days and a Maserati Gran Turismo as an everyday driver, then the new California would be a good replacement for the Maserati, which by the way is a very nice car and really prettier than the California. They started the car and it sounds like a 430; lots of growl. They claim the nav head unit is state of the art which would be a very pleasant surprise if it is true; it looked very nice and had all the right inputs. Price is still talked about unofficially as under 200,000 and while one Ferrari NA person said it would be in the USA by next spring one of the dealers I know said he would be surprised if they make it here that soon. He thought it could easily be next summer. One last comment; I drove my Maserati from the Northern California area to Carmel and back and averaged 23 mpg going as fast as I could; surprised me than I owned an econo cruiser.

 

Great write up, thank you.

 

Thanks for your impressions....looking forward to seeing one myself

 

Thanks for the thoughtful post!

Nice gas mileage on your Maser. That makes me believe the claim in a Top Gear article about the California which stated the new direct injection engine gets 21.5 mpg combined cycle.

Question: Were you able to take any photos? If so can you post a them please?

Thanks again!

 

Thanks for the write up. Sounds like a great car for it's purpose.

I can't wait to see one in the flesh.

My impressions from lots of photos, is that red is not the best color for this car. Still, I agree, red will probably be a number one seller.

 

Red, just like lipstick on a pig!

 

Really very nice. Meg liked it as well.

 

Unfortunately, photos of the California were not allowed at the Quail showing which is really sort of a silly rule. There are pix of this car everywhere, many of them released by Ferrari themselves. I would think the more pix the better to amp up the buzz, particularly among hard core Ferrari groups such as Ferrarichat members.

The showing started with a video of the "old" California with focus on the hood scoop, the vents on the side of that car, and the rear fender line and you can see how they have become design elements of the new car. One detail I picked up at the showing is that the instrument pod cover has a shape on top of it the echos the shape of the hood scoop itself. If you look through some of the pix on this forum I am sure you a can find that detail.

One last thing; I was told there will be a Daytona seat pattern option. The regular seats are pretty plain in my opinion and could use an upgrade; nice to hear that Ferrari, for a premium price no doubt, will accommodate my wishes.

 

Just got back from seeing it. The car looked very nice and I was most impressed with how quickly and compactly the top folded and opened, pretty amazing.

 

Are the two rear seats usable? Are they similar in size to the 911 back seats?

 

They called it a 2+ and that is a pretty good description. I don't see how 2 people could sit back there but one small person behind a cooperating front passenger would work for a 30 minutes. The spokesperson said someone 5"11" had sat back there but I can't imagine that. Yes, more like a Porsche than my Maserati Gran Turisimo or a 612 which are both pretty accommodating for two people.

 

My friend went and saw it. He asked if he could order it with no back seat and a six speed and they said no problem. They did not say how much it would cost extra.

 

the 2 seats in the back are included and a back shelf is extra? As Ive been under the impression (from my dealer) it was just the reverse

 

I saw the car last night. My wife summed it up, it’s a good “normal” car. Well, it won’t ever be “normal”, but you get the idea.

* Front end looks pretty good. Interesting headlights. Good proportions.
* Side view looks pretty good. Seemed a little busy, but it all worked except as the view neared the high large backend.
* Backend sucked for me. Bulbous. And, I still can’t get used to the single tail lights. Exhaust tips actually worked fairly well for the rear end (which I didn’t like).
* Wheels looked good in person.
* Interior was very GT like. We thought it was very well done. It was interesting (different than other f-cars). I wouldn’t take the Nav system screen, or whatever it was – way too big. Looked too “normal”.
* Great headroom. I’m 6’2”+ and had lots of headroom with my build.
* Side mirrors were bulbous!!! They look like 3 sizes too large for the car! Looked like footballs from some angles.
* The front windshield frame is way too thick. I’m sure it’s functional needing to be sturdy, but combined with the windshield blackout strip, the combination is a huge blind spot.
* Cup holders? :-(
* Top movement was cool. Very fast and efficient.
* Engine compartment had similar red runners like the F430. Had the typical plastic molding surrounding the sides of the engine. I wonder why they do this? It doesn’t look good and it hides the engine.
* The guy who did the car introduction for Ferrari said it was NOT an entry level car, WAS supposed to be soft(er), NOT a sportscar, WAS a GT. Just like the various magazine articles said.
* Don’t like that they went with a front engine V8 vs V12. It’s just not right. I’ll keep my 550.

I’m sure the car will be a big seller. I’ll pass on it however. Just not my cup of tea.

Tim
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Thanks for the detailed and systematic observations!
Also great to see the photo of the presentation area!

 

Wow, comes stock with some really dark tint, cool!

 

I think that is just a model (if you are referring to the blue California).

 

It is a model of the car. If you look carefully at the presentation photo you can see the blue model behind the woman wearing the tan jacket.

 

Correct, just a model. They didn't want us to take any pictures inside. Great model, however! Thought I might fool some folks with the picture perspective I used... ;-)

 

Dang, up unto a minute ago I was happy about the 18.5mpg I made in my Gransport, driving 180 miles roundtrip at basically the speed limit to see what it would do. Maybe that will be the reason I need a California?

 

I found something surfing the Web, but not much ..

http://914-6.blogspot.com/2008/08/ferrari-california-showing.html

 

Well, if were a nice day you could have put the top down!