Automotive Einstein

The Ferrari California has been on the market for three years now, which means the time has come to give Maranello’s first-ever front-engine eight-cylinder GT some attention. At Ferrari, the march of progress is denoted by increased power and reduced weight — and both are here in the 2013 California.

Photo Gallery: 2013 Ferrari California – First Drive – Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2013 Ferrari California – First Drive – Automobile Magazine

How time flies. It’s already been a decade since the Ferrari Enzo rewrote the sports car rulebook. Although its major elements — a carbon-fiber structure, a 650-hp V-12, and active aerodynamics — have hardly become commonplace, new supercars have challenged Ferrari’s king-of-the-road status. Never fear. Ferrari will restore order come 2013 with a stunning high-tech flagship.

Photo Gallery: Deep Dive: 2014 Ferrari Enzo Successor – Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: Deep Dive: 2014 Ferrari Enzo Successor – Automobile Magazine

Although production has already began on the redesigned Ferrari California, the Italian automaker will show the front-engine V-8 powered grand touring 2+2 convertible at the Geneva Motor Show before it goes on sale. Ferrari says the new California should be faster than the current model thanks to a weight reduction, and modest bump in power.

Photo Gallery: First Look: 2013 Ferrari California – Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: First Look: 2013 Ferrari California – Automobile Magazine

After weeks of whispers, teasing, and leaked images, Ferrari has finally unwrapped its latest 12-cylinder gran turismo. The new 2013 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta effectively replaces the aging 599 GTB Fiorano, and will make its first public debut at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show.

Photo Gallery: 2013 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta – First Look – Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2013 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta – First Look – Automobile Magazine

Amedeo Felisa is pressed for time. He has been in the office since 7 a.m., and now he’s almost ready to go home for dinner, only to return again for the final 9-to-11 p.m. session. Felisa loosens his already loose tie by another inch, leans back in a high-tech yet creaking leather chair, glances at his wristwatch. What about the rumored entry-level Ferrari, the reborn Dino, a $175,000 sports car that would sit quite comfortably below the 458 and the California? The CEO-cum-chief engineer grins a steely grin, hits his ballpoint pen hard on the desk, then puts his poker face back on and slowly shakes his head. “You don’t want to understand, do you? Believe me, there is no such Ferrari. We have no intention of increasing our production volume beyond what it takes to satisfy the growing demand of new markets like China and Russia.” So, no response to the changing times? “I didn’t say that,” Felisa quips, and this time the broad smile is genuine. “The weight of our cars has to come down, the aerodynamic efficiency must improve, and now that Formula 1 is about to agree to switch to six-cylinder engines, a downsized powerplant may become acceptable for our next entry-level road car.”

Photo Gallery: Sneak Preview: Ferrari – Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: Sneak Preview: Ferrari – Automobile Magazine

It looks far better in person than it does in photos, but the FF probably won’t win any design awards. At least not for its styling. What’s underneath is a different story. Ferrari’s first all-wheel-drive system is a simple, elegant solution to a big engineering challenge: how do you send power to the front wheels of a car with its engine behind the front axle and the transaxle in back? Simple, you add a second transmission onto the front of the engine. The two-speed front transmission, or Power Transfer Unit, allows the FF to send torque to the front wheels without heavy driveshafts or differentials, and a built-in torque vectoring capability allows the FF’s computers to adjust the car’s cornering attitude. It’s brilliant. The FF’s V-12 engine is no less impressive. It is Ferrari’s first direct-injected twelve and uses six-into-one headers that were first seen on the 599GTO, which means it’s a screamer. It revs to 8200 rpm, and its torque peak of 504 lb-ft occurs at a lofty 6000 rpm, but it’s already making 370 lb-ft at 1000 rpm. In other words, by the time the tach needle hits one grand, the 6.3-liter V-12 is twisting out more torque than the California’s V-8 does at its peak. And that speaks to the drivability of the FF. With four large, comfortable seats, a spacious, gorgeously finished cargo space, and four-wheel drive, this is truly the first Ferrari you could drive every day.

If you want a Ferrari with a manual transmission, the California is your only choice. That’s kind of ironic, since stick-shift cars have a reputation as the transmission choice of “real car guys” and the California is earning a reputation as the “housewives’ Ferrari.” It may be the soft-core alternative to the mid-engine 458 Italia, but the California still has enough brio to run with the best. The force behind the magic is a direct-injected (also Ferrari’s first) flat-plane-crankshaft V-8 spinning out 454 hp at a lofty 7500 rpm. The engine doesn’t crackle, bark, or scream the way other Maranello V-8s have, but that’s why this Ferrari presents itself as a more civilized alternative than those undeniably insane mid-engine cars. The California’s retractable hard top (another first for Ferrari) stores in fourteen seconds and leaves enough trunk room for two rollaway bags or one golf bag. A finished cargo shelf behind the front seats can be replaced with two very small rear seats — perhaps for small children. The rear-mounted, dual-clutch automatic transaxle is tuned for smooth shifts, and the light steering won’t bother the driver with too much feedback. The California, in fact, is so well mannered you might wonder how it came from the same company that built Scuderias, 16Ms, and 599GTOs. Of course, now you also know why it has earned its reputation as a Ferrari for the fairer sex.