A couple of years ago I was at an airport and I noticed in the duty free area there was a Ferrari on a turntable that was a raffle prize.
I'd never seen one like it before turns out that it was a California, at £25 / $40 a pop for a ticket I passed on what may well have been my only opportunity to own a Ferrari without regret.
Allegedly the California was originally conceived as Maserati, however the economics of the project dictated that only a Ferrari badge offered any hope of a financial return on the vehicle.
Researching this blog I was surprised to find the California introduced in 2008, shares it's engine design with both ALFA Romeo and Maserati models.
Over 1,000 hours are said to have been spent in a wind tunnel perfecting the aerodynamics of the California so that it's drag coefficient is 0.32 the lowest ever achieved for any Ferrari.
I have to confess it was not until I had run a registration check on these vehicles that I had any idea of exactly which models they were and indeed they were both the same type, I thought the red one was a 612 Scaglietti !
Allegedly there is room on the back seats for two adults in a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti something at 6' 2" I'd love to put to the test.
Even if I had known it comes with a front mounted 450 hp 4.3 litre 260 cui V8 engine I doubt I would have been tempted to buy a raffle ticket....
because for all the attention to detail ...
beautiful craftsmanship ....
seven speed dual clutch transmission ...
and promise of the joys of open air motoring ...
alone price of the road tax on the Ferrari California is enough to keep me on the road for a whole year in my 20 year old jalopy ... but that does not stop me from dreaming :-)
With thanks to the PistonHeads responsible for bringing these dream machines to the Sunday Service at the BMW Plant in Cowley a couple of weeks ago.
Hope you have enjoyed to days California dreaming edition of 'Gettin a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you'll join me again tomorrow for a look at another vehicle bearing the California name. Don't forget to come back now !
PS Should I have failed to quench your thirst for Ferrari's take a look at the new Ferrari FF with Michele Rahal over on The Drive Channel.
