Click above for high-res gallery of the Ferrari California

Some of the more hard-core tifosi have been whining that Ferrari has gone soft with the new California. It's pretty hard to justify that a car able to hit 60 mph in the three-second range is soft, but so be it. The nay-sayers point to the inclusion of a folding hard-top as a sign that Ferrari has grown more concerned with pleasing its poseur clientele than developing genuine performance vehicles. Never mind that the innovative rapid-deployment roof, according to Ferrari, actually weighs 5kg less than an equivalent soft-top and still only takes 14 seconds to raise or lower.

However, Maranello has not finished development of the California and intends to pacify those malcontents with some new features. For starters, Ferrari says that about 10% of its customers still demand a manual transmission, and so they will have one ready for the California by the time it actually goes on sale about half a year from now. Around the same time, Ferrari will also unveil a new HGTC handling package, like those offered for the 612 Scaglietti and the previous 575 M Maranello, to tighten up the California's suspension. A new set of lightweight wheels is also in the works, anticipated to shave some 10-12kg off of the unsprung weight. A 430 Scuderia it is not - that's why Ferrari makes both - but don't mistake the California for a lazy boulevard cruiser.

Gallery: 2009 Ferrari California

Ferrari to offer California with manual, HGTC handling pack originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: Ferrari F149 Spy Shots

Spy Shots: Ferrari F149 spotted, sans butt-camo originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 06 May 2008 14:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Click above to view the spy video

Sound the alarm and turn up your speakers - Ferrari has a security breach. Someone managed to get a good vantage point with a video camera over the company's private Fiorano test track in Maranello and caught the oft-photographed test mule of the upcoming new Ferrari model lapping the track at full throttle.

Known internally as project F149 and alternatively referred to externally as the Dino or GT California, the new model is expected to feature four seats and a retractable hard top. Although rumor has it that Maserati may be delegated the assembly (including the 4.7-liter V8 it makes for the GranTurismo S and Alfa 8C), this beast sounds every bit like a purebred stallion. Follow the jump to see for yourself.

[Source: YouTube via Autoblog.nl]

Continue reading SPY VIDEO: Ferrari F149 GT California at Fiorano

SPY VIDEO: Ferrari F149 GT California at Fiorano originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 24 Apr 2008 08:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It is official, at least from the pages of Car magazine: Ferrari's we-aren't-building-a-Dino Dino will appear at the Geneva Auto Show in March of '08. It arose from a stillborn Maserati that was to be a companion to the Granturismo. Maserati couldn't afford to make it, so the project became the Dino.

Internally known as the F149, the Dino will be a comfy, front-engined GT with a retractable hardtop. Car doesn't know what the Dino will look like, and oddly, they wonder if the Freitas exercise is an actual styling buck (don't they read Autoblog?). We just hope it doesn't look like Car's rendering, which is the 'shroomed-out offspring of a 612 and 599 wearing cheesy aftermarket rims. Production is slated for next summer.

The next F430 will be all new, not a continuing evolution of the current body style that began with the 360. It will be smaller, faster, lighter, harder, and come as a hardtop only. Instead of more bore, it will get the small displacement, direct injection, turbocharged V8 that's been rumored. Add to that some active aero, brake energy capture, pushrod suspension, and a ballistic valvetrain. It will bow in 2009 or 2010, for a hefty premium over the F430.

[Source: Car magazine]

Spy shots: Ferrari Dino and F430 successor originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 25 Sep 2007 16:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.