The Ferrari California has received a few important updates lately, and exotic car tradition would hold that those were intended to keep the "starter Ferrari" fresh for a few years. But according to a report in Car and Driver, the maestros in Maranello have bigger plans for the four-year-old car: the introduction of a completely new one, as soon as next year. Five years is about the lifespan of a fruit fly when it comes to exotics, but Ferrari apparently isn't happy that the California is considered the 'not-really-a-Ferrari' within the range, despite having set out to explicitly create a more accessible car to court new customers.
According to C/D, this means an entirely new body is on the way, designed by the in-house team with the assistance of Pininfarina. It will supposedly return to Ferrari's front-engined GT roots, taking inspiration from the 250 GTO, with a much cleaner line from front to rear, and slimming down the Sir Mix-A-Lot rear end while maintaining a folding metal roof.
The redesign will continue underneath, with the new convertible getting a turbocharged V8 – Car and Driver says that's the "unmistakable sound" we recently heard from the California mule lapping Fiorano recently. The engine is expected to surpass the 500 horsepower mark on its own, but wait, there's more: it will be fitted with "an F1-inspired KERS-like" package that could add another 100 horses and propel the droptop from 0-to-60 in no more than 3.5 seconds.
On paper, this details read like a wishlist for true Ferrari fans, and it is such a move away from the current car that the name could be changed. If the rebooted cabrio puts them together properly, then the next California – or whatever it is called – might finally be invited to join its siblings at the adult table. Scroll down to revisit the spy vid that purports to show off Ferrari's turbocharged future.
According to C/D, this means an entirely new body is on the way, designed by the in-house team with the assistance of Pininfarina. It will supposedly return to Ferrari's front-engined GT roots, taking inspiration from the 250 GTO, with a much cleaner line from front to rear, and slimming down the Sir Mix-A-Lot rear end while maintaining a folding metal roof.
The redesign will continue underneath, with the new convertible getting a turbocharged V8 – Car and Driver says that's the "unmistakable sound" we recently heard from the California mule lapping Fiorano recently. The engine is expected to surpass the 500 horsepower mark on its own, but wait, there's more: it will be fitted with "an F1-inspired KERS-like" package that could add another 100 horses and propel the droptop from 0-to-60 in no more than 3.5 seconds.
On paper, this details read like a wishlist for true Ferrari fans, and it is such a move away from the current car that the name could be changed. If the rebooted cabrio puts them together properly, then the next California – or whatever it is called – might finally be invited to join its siblings at the adult table. Scroll down to revisit the spy vid that purports to show off Ferrari's turbocharged future.
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