They needed a 4th model line to expand. They could have made something more extreme, but between the 430 Scuds and the various limited editions ( Enzo et al ) they pretty much have this covered. A 4 door or off roader wouldn’t be accepted. So it had to be softer, more luxiourous and easier to live with coupe. Bentley sell far more GT’s then Ferrari will ever do of Californias and, at this level, the price difference is not too important.

This is the right car for Ferrari to make. The xx years waiting list ( which I am sure is slightly inflated ) suggests that they called the market correctly. This car is really the successor to the Mondial T convertible, which was never liked by those who deem themselves to be cognesti, but did very well for Ferrari ( and, in coupe form, is actually a very good car )

It will be interesting to see whether Ferrari’s move to the stratospheric end of the market is sustainable, since the ‘free money’ economy is toast. Would be a shame to see them implode because they priced themselves out of the 150K market and have an in-house Maserati brand occupying that space.

Ferrari adamantly denied reports that they were moving downmarket. There would be no cheap, entry-level Ferrari. Of course, this didn’t make sense, since everybody knew they were developing a small, front-engined, slower Ferrari with worse handling than anything else. Since the car looked a lot like a Corvette on paper (the base car or possibly the Z06, this is definitely not in the same league as the ZR1), everybody figured Ferrari would have to price the new car somewhere between a Vette and an F430

So what does Ferrari do? Create a car that’s screams ‘entry-level Ferrari’ in every way, but price it HIGHER than the F430. This is either a stroke of genius, or one of the most egregious displays of automotive arrogance in recent memory

How about Ferrari Big Apple or Ferrari New England?

What is so special about California? The sunny weather or the unpredictable earthquake, the foreclosure or wild fires with a twist of gang bang.

Beyonce is pretty but I prefer Rihanna!

What this thing needs is a three-on-the-tree column shifter. Why ?, it’d just be damned funny in a Ferrari.

Bravo.

Fixed that for you. :)

I would really like to see Ferrari lead the charge for some weight control. They can afford new technologies and exotic material, and their customers aren’t going to blink at a few extra grand for carbon fiber, aluminum, etc.

I’d love to see an “entry-level” 308 weighing at least 600 pounds less than the California, with a new small V8.

Aside from that the design is starting to grow on me, the proportions look somewhat better as I mull over the car more. The rear is still ugly, and the blue should never see production; but it isn’t that bad.

Also, I thought it would be cheaper than the F430…

JJ, the California will eventually be the cheap Ferrari when the 430 successor comes out. One begins to suspect that the timing of Ferrari’s move further upmarket will prove to be poor.

And consider me once again amazed that a Delphi-sourced part (magnetic dampers) even made it onto a Ferrari build sheet, let alone became a model highlight.

Well, then prepare to be disappointed by the Audi R8, Lamborghini LP640, several Bentleys and the Veyron. For some reason, though, only Lexus gets called on it. Brand snobbery at it’s finest.

Any car that has an exhaust moulded into the bumper is going to use this kind of stylistic fakery. Why? You can’t attach a hot, moving part like an exhaust pipe to a fixed, plastic bumper. Either you:
* Have tips attached to the exhaust that float in the bumper and leave a gap, which is what most cars do.
* Run the pipe under the bumper and look like an econocar.
* Have a fake molding in the bumper that surrounds the exhaust. This, at least, looks clean and finished, unless you shine a light into it.

I’ll just choose not to believe that’s true for now and from now onwards act like I never read that.

Seriously, while the rest of the car is growing on me after the initial disappointment of seeing the first pictures, fake exhausts would be enough reason for me to opt for something else instead.

Also, I thought it would be cheaper than the F430…

And don’t forget, some guys like big butts, fat bottomed girls, bubble hineys, etc…

Not me, but some do.

And it’s $244K??? SO overpriced. If it was, say, $180K it’d have a market against something like the Bentley Continental GT, maybe steal some of the Gallardo Spyder’s sales, but as it is now it’s terribly overpriced.

This is simply inexcusable. I am disappointed and terrified by Ferrari’s use of this cosmetic trick.