Official Car of the Golden State

Welcome to California: where the sun is always hot, and exotic cars are everywhere; well, in Beverly Hills at least. California, home of warm weather, palm trees, its famous Golden Gate Bridge, and lots of Movie and TV stars, would be the last place to find an Italian Supercar named directly after the state. Luckily, I found one. This the 2010 Ferrari California.



The California was originally born in 1950's with Ferrari 250 California convertible. The car is still considered a "true legend" today. The new Ferrari keeps the old 250 alive with more power and speed. With a 4.3 liter Ferrari V8 pumping out 453 horsepower, the new California reaches 60 miles per hour in under 4 seconds and tops 193 miles per hour. The new California is Ferrari's first front-engine V8 exotic. Now, you may argue that Ferrari made many front-engine cars, but none of them had a V8. Ferrari did have V8s back then, but only for mid-engine cars. Their front-engine cars back then had V12s.



The new California introduces new technology and specifications to Ferrari. For example, as I said before it is the first front-engine Ferrari with a V8. It also the first Ferrari with a 7-speed dual clutch paddle shift transmission and the first Ferrari spider with a metal retractable roof. Basically, the California goes along the lines of "first in improvements". The only way to see if Ferrari has improved is by driving this car. Unfortunately, by this time all 5000 Californias have been sold and won't be sold again until later on. Fortunately, there was a way for me to truly get a feel for this car: Gran Turismo. Since GT5 was the closest thing to reality, I attempted to test drive the California on multiple circuits. It really did feel real. The car truly grips the road and its acceleration is truly breathtaking. Ferrari really did a really good job on bringing the California back to life.



Just because the car is named California, doesn't mean it can only be driven there. Once Ferrari puts this car back in production, you can get this Golden State car anywhere in the world for just under $200,000. So, if you love the state of California, this car will bring the best of that state to you anywhere you go.