California test drive @ Ferrari of Silicon Valley

Hi,

I received an email from Ferrari inviting me to test drive the California at Ferrari of Silicon Valley in Redwood City. The dates are from Oct 22 through Nov 14.

I will be there between 11:00 and 12:30 this Thursday. I trust you all current Northern California Ferrari owners will receive an invitation as well.

I am looking forward to it! My only other Ferrari driving experience has been my '87 328.

Bill

 

Hi,

This was the first time that I had visited Ferrari of Silicon Valley and it was a very positive experience. I had test driven the Porsche Panamera at Quail in August and they required several forms filled out, copies of your driver's license, etc. before they would let you drive the car. I was prepared for that and more to test drive a car worth at least 2.5 times what the Porsche was worth. But, I met with Jason who is a salesperson there, we chatted a bit and he said are you ready let's go. Jason also told me that this was the first time ever that Ferrari of Silicon Valley had ever offered test drives and that the California that we drove was a demo specifically for that purpose.

Jason drove first to demonstrate the controls and then he let me drive. My drive was shorter because I was splitting the test drive with a guest. This was the first time I had driven a Ferrari with the F1 shifting and the experience was breathtaking. My feeling that I that I would never want an F1 and would always prefer a manual transmission was seriously undermined. As I said my drive was all too short but the sound of the California shifting at 8,000 rpm in a blink (while blipping the throttle between the gears thank you) will live with me for a long time. The California may be heavy and have ONLY 450 HP but it is a seriously fast car. Count me among the converted.

I am including a photo of the car we drove. My guest was 6' 5" and he fit easily into the car.

Bill
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