My beginning of a new journey after ending my Porsche's saga

For all those bored of the following (it's old news) and know much about Ferrari, pls pls excuse my ignorance and my being a first time Ferrari owner to be of a California... I am really a convert and it's like opening myself to a new door to a new toy store... I grin, smile, cheer when I test drive like a silly kid and I never had that on my Porsche... it was too predictable... but now I understand why they say Ferrari doesn't sell cars... they sell emotions, dreams... it is not a CAR... it is a Ferrari (I am a sucker to marketing) but I tried many other cars... maserati, bimmer, mercedes and Porsches... nothing... the Lambo... yes and no but I hate the getting in and out and the pointy looks... now as to the test drive...

The car is NOT SLOW at all given its weight of 1750 km about 250 more than the C4S... FWIW, the weight was more than made up for by the box... the dealer said the new age Ferrari is very reliable, top is German made and BOX is german made. The BOX feels SMOOTHER, FASTER than PDK?????

The car is lightning fast and very willing to go even at 2500 rpm. The wider torque band makes city traffic lovely and much more so than a F1 430 I'd imagine. In terms of fit and finish, the Ferrari has came a long way since the 430. This car feels updated, modern... with lots of amenities to make it the most competitive and most likely number 1 GT on the market. It makes the Aston's DB9 Volante looks ancient to be honest. The dual clutch response, the ride (softer but it's good as a GT), the amenties made it almost 10/10. I have been in Maserati Gran Turismo S, DB9 and SL 63 and they all feel less rapid than this guy... To all those who said the car was ugly, fat... maybe I am making up a self-fulfilling prophecy but when I see it in metal, it has class, presence and it looks great in metal. The pix really don't do it justice. I actually like it when I first saw it. It made a mark. Of course I do not have a 458 beside me but maybe that will DWARF the California but after the California, I feel that the 458 is probably the most sorted after mid engine supercar on market. I seriously doubt the McLaren will be able to outdo it I am sold.

R8 didn't offer test drive but overall, the Ferrari has done its magic and R8 is not the same to me. The only credible threat was the SLS to be launched coming friday... but I wasn't sure about the look, the mark, the brand n the gullwing... I left the dealer without paying a deposit. Went to see predator s by Adrian Brody as I wanted it to se cit but before I knew it, I went back to the dealer before 7 pm and paid my deposit? It was a hump and I went over it.

It was also meant to be a bit cos I said I wouldn't consider a California in this terrible economy unless I can sell my C4S PDK... and I took it in the dealer it was sold CASH deposited the next day... and when it first materialized, I wasn't happy because I thought that was a mistake. However, I think no matter what, once in a lifetime, you really need to do the TFF - the Ferrari Factor. OK, this is probably not the proper Ferrari (my negative comments would be a really really feather light steering making you feel less road feel compared to the 911... but this is a GT... so it is not a bad thing and a soft suspension... but the launch control, the throttle response... the car is not let's say on supercar level but as a GT given its weight, it is RAPID and I don't think in city driving, it will have any trouble keepiong up with a C4S PDK). During the trip, I ran into a GTR which teased me for a bit but I test bedded the car. I wasn't as sure footed given that it is not 4WD and Front engine but the GTR couldn't get away as easily as I would have thought. He was faster due to twin turbo but the California FWIW being a GT, is speedy.

OK, as a Ferrari, a lot of people will frown but as a GT, it has won my heart hands down and probably the best looking, best overall package FWIW on the GT market.

I was very very worried about fit and finish and the quality and even the speed of it but honest to god, the C4S at least on a straight line would feel less rapid than the California (maybe cos of the exhaust note). The car is indeed on a softer lazier side but it is not a bad aspect because this California opens up a whole new door/genre/model for Ferrari which it would never have captured... be it the ladies, the housewives, the 7-11 ibanker who prefers a nice convertible after work and just an occasional squirt rather than hard core tracking...

Well I do not know why but it is absolutely magical. I had been in Ferraris before but until you test drive one for 1 hour or 1.5 hours, you can't really tell. I was introduced to the car, turn the key, the dealer taught me everything (everything was different from 911 but not necessarily BETTER... ) the way it should handle. Then he took me to sit in a 430, the 430 is spine shattering and super loud but it is not an everyday proposition although the 458 is one. In slow city traffic, the 430 F1 is a bit cumbersome and given the traffic over here, you would always have to leave a long gap and try to rev the car. The 458 must be a ton better considering how stable and good the California was.

I wouldn't say Ferrari is BETTER than Porsche but they are apples and oranges. Porsche's 911 is like a laser cutter, exact, precise and to the T every time. It's predictable and very much so and it is durable, hardy and wonderful. You know everytime you buy one, it will NOT disappoint, but it will most likely be predictable even for 911 and wouldn't excite much. You will be content at the Germans and how they have done it over and over again, so exact, so precise and so wonderful.

The Ferrari is completely different. I put in the key, I was like a kid in the candy store and I press the button, boom, I heard the engine, the V8 came alive... no doubt, the deep roar from the V8... something that the new age 997 can never and will never replicate. The only thing that comes closest would the last gen air cooled 993 but 997 is muted and I like my sports car to have a little more kick. The California is more subdued compared to 430 but it is throaty and idling is nice to listen to. Now just for that, i think it is a work of art... even if I don't drive to work, I put in the key, press the button, listen to that thing... now FWIW, no matter how fast the GTR is, it will not provide the same aural plesaure and satisfaction. And that is TFF. Speed wise, the California will be crushed by the turbo cab PDK... but... they are just worlds apart.

I can see why purist of Ferraris would dislike it and frown upon it just like purist porschephiles frown upon the tiptronic s, the PDK and the 997... The California would be a heresy to those purist (there was never front engined V8 and the steering should not be so soft... lazy)... The reliability and or resale are yet to be seen over here... not much around but those that I have seen, are asking > list. I asked myself what's the worst case, I drive it for 2 years, I don't like it in (Jan 2011 prod march 2011 delivery 3rd year of a going new model... of I don't know how many years... 2013 facelift most likely), 3 years, I sell it and lose 30% on it... considering that Ferrari still stood up well and best in the dep schedule. While this is my first Ferrari, I think it will not be my last. If the world is so perfect and means allow, I would want one California and one 458 or one 458 with a 4S.

BTW, all the magazines' negative reviews including those of Chris Harris... didn't apply to me... why? Because I fall right into the category they are targetting (call me the sucker to marketing... but if this is a rebadged Maserati, it is a DAMN GOOD ONE and would dwarf the Maseratis Grand Turismo S and Aston making them look so outdated and out of place no pun intended), A FIRST TIME FERRARI BUYER. I am like a clean sheet of paper with a clean mind waiting to be enlightened. When you have no expectation, you don't have preconceptions and you don't have preoccupations and then you are handed the California and being asked, how is this car? Then I will just say, damn GOOD it is. Coming from a 911 PDK, the PDK has better handling and more nimble and more road feel but this car serves another purpose. It is more roomy, more comfy and certainly more practical (fits one golf bag). I am sold. Chances are, if I have driven much of a 430 spider, I would probably truly dislike this car but the good news is I haven't... but then I start to ask, would the 458 then make me feel that California is so out of place in the Ferrari category? Probably not but until I have driven a 458, I would put in a question mark but they are pretty apple and orange comparison. The 458 is the most everyday user friendly supercar but in terms of daily commute, it is still a bit of a less than ideal proposition. It sits two, no space, no truck... so the best is to have one each but since I can only dream of getting a 458 (wait list till 2014), I think my California keeps me happy. With hard earned money, here I come and I put down my deposit and I don't think I will regret selling the Porsche 997 4s. The real question is that then would I go back? I am not sure.

I need to finalize my spec 6 months before so I have 2 weeks to decide but for some reason, lately, I have been another sucker to marketing but at the dealer, my test car was a Bianco Avus with Bordeaux or Red and the second test car was Bianco Avus on Cuoio (darker than tan). I saw Rosso Scuderia (orangy...) and worry that as an everyday proposition, it will be too fluorescent to me... so I may have to go with a more subtle classic Rosso Corsa. I am split on that but dealer said Rosso Corsa and Scuderia sell the most and then black, some nero daytona but he notices that more and more customers order Bianco Avus (although many said it would make the car more bloated). Blame it on marketing maybe but the test car in Europe and Top Gear was using a combo as what the dealer said as the current fashion and trend = Bianco Avus on Chocolate Brown (i ain't sure about the Chocolate Brown... too milky and trendy)... he said Bianco Avus on Cuoio would be classic (but i wonder how Cuoio stands up to everyday use and dirt)... but he said if all else fail, just get Bianco Avus on BLACK with red stitchings and Red seatbelts. He did say that if I take Bianco Avus on Cuoio, I don't need extra as the car is stunning enough. I would probably just get the Scuderia Shield, the Giallo Modena Caliper and Yellow Tachymeter and maybe IPOD (I don't listen to music... the engine is good sound...)... I really am split on Rosso Corsa or Bianco Avus...

I can't say much but for the many first, first folding metal roof, first front engined V8, first DFI and first 7 speed dual clutch... it has much to offer for the price. As to resale, only time will tell after 2 more years but it may tank or it may hold up well. Who knows, the good news is that it will appeal to another niche that it had never done before.

Help would be appreciated on the options... Rosso Corsa or Bianco Avus... I like the press car but unsure about the Cuoio though it is classic... but a White Ferrari... is that almost a heresy since the day of Miami Vice? But I do see many more whites at the dealers from 599 to Calfornia to 430...

 

Rosso Corsa the more Ferris Bueller's Day Off deal... always classic but working at an ibank... wondering if a Red Ferrari would be too flamboyant and ostentatious (yes I should be driving a Prius like my colleagues as they do it on purpose saying that if you drive a Ferrari, you have too much money to spare and ripping us all off type of deal... better be low key I heard... )

Rosso Corsa can't be wrong but I have never ever owned a RED CAR ... will it grow on me or out of me after 2 weeks of 7 days driving... not sure.

Bianco Avus, my natural choice although many said it would make the fat rear looks more bloated. I see more and more Ferraris being ordered in Bianco Avus (dealer's demo was white) and more buyers are gravitating towards it. It is a trend like 996's speed yellow and first gen SLK in yellow which all faded. The Rosso Corsa is timeless.

With that said, the colour shouldn't affect resale too much in due course but it would affect the time waiting to be solde. As most second hand Ferrari buyers are gonna want RED RED RED and less in WHITE. White is sort of a trend but trend comes and goes. White on Cuoio is really European and White on Chocolate I heard are both the IN colour now.

I wonder what stitchings would be good with Cuoio (red?) or should I skip it altogether?

Rosso Corsa on BLACK and Bianco Avus on Black with deviated stitchings if all else fail cannot be wrong. I think the exterior colour of the car matters more than anything else.

 

I rambled and sorry... cos I was so overwhelemd by this new Ferrari experience... that I hate to tell myself that I am a convert. If Ferrari is a car, I have never driven one before. Since everything else is a car, the Ferrari is in a category of "I am not buying a car, I am buying a Ferrari"

The stitched cavallinos is I think a steep option but never done over here. Bianco Avus is what my heart tells me but my brain is telling me Rosso Corsa. Bianco Avus on Cuoio is really special but it could become the next defunct FAD... although I see more and more buyers gravitating towards white. White can work on 911 but as to a Ferrari, I am always unsure. If I do the Bianco Avus, I could do cuoio and forget all about deviated stitchings. Just plain. Bianco Avus with a sporty touch will be yellow calipers and shield and all blacked out with yellow special stitchings (probalby not the piping... too much.)... or red calipers with black seats and red belts red stitchings... but would black on yellow stitches and yellow seatbelts be too much?

 

Yes sir I think so, Bianco Avus on Black with Red Stitchings and Red Belts or
Rosso Corsa on Black with Red Stitchings and Black belts.