California Dreamin’ Ferrari
By Zaheer on Apr 28, 2011 with Comments 0
The Ferrari California is filled with surprises because of the many firsts it offers. The California is the first Ferrari that has a front-mounted V-8-engine, it is also the first to use direct injection, and it is Ferrari’s leader in dual-clutch automated manual transmission. It is also the first to be produced in a machine factory. The California seems ordinary because of the machine made models but it provides the highest level of quality and performance.
The California screeches like any other Ferrari. The engine howls with a melodious roar that scares even monsters in the closet. The growl revs up from a whisper to a thunderclap in an instant. It accelerates with such mad man ferocity that it leaves its drivers on the brink of insanity. The car’s drivers will feel every curve and every speck of dust on the road as the California roars past the highway.
You will feel every pebble.
As in every pebble that the wheels put asunder.
Ferrari makes the California for the more casual driver who still wants to experience the Ferrari. The California is a softer, milder, saner Dr. Jekyll.
A red start button will face the driver once he or she rides for the first time, a Mannetino controller on the steering wheel, and a paddle-shifted transmission will all explode on your face once you ride. The moment you step on the gas you notice that the suspension is supple like a baby’s bottom, and the shifting smooth like silk.
The California handles corners and curves well as it maneuvers with immediacy owing to the weight mounted on the rear axles. The V-8 is mounted on the front axle and the dual-clutch transmission is a transaxle implanted on the rear. Chassis balance is at the equilibrium of the universe almost Zen like as you swerve and shovel on the road. The handle is amazing as you pound the gas when you glide on the road.
The dual-clutch has a seamless shift that is barely felt. The California’s suspension finds the tiniest of details such as small road irregularities without reduction in control.
The California’s 453-hp, 4.3-liter V-8 powers it from start to finish and it rumbles like thunder. The California’s V-8 uses the trademark flat crankshaft like in most Ferrari’s before it. Once you rev up the sound is like two manic four-cylinders that burble in your dreams.
The fuel interruption prevalent in the California is noticeable in bumper to bumper traffic and gliding down a mountain as shown by the jerkiness. All in all the California is powerful yet subtle, fierce but elegant and most of all luxury at its best.
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Filed Under: Industry News
