I WOKE up to the sound of my alarm clock one Saturday morning—I hate getting up that early—and I had wanted to sleep again, but then I realized that it was “Ferrari Day.”
That thought propelled me to take a shower, change clothes and drive to West McKinley Estate in Taguig City for the much anticipated driving experience and official debut of the Ferrari California T in Manila.
And damn! It felt like my blood stirred upon seeing a bunch of Ferraris parked at the event venue such as the 348 GTB, F50 GT, F430 and 458 Italia. Imagine the nostalgic feeling of seeing those Italian luxury cars. And, perhaps, what was even more interesting was the opportunity to meet the latest Ferrari California T.
Ferrari’s local distributor, Autostrada Motore Inc., made sure that it would be a memorable day as they allowed us to drive two California Ts—in red and blue—which had just been shipped into the country.
The Ferrari California is a grand touring sports car hardtop convertible named after the late 1950s Ferrari 250 GT. The letter “T”, which is on the Holy Grail nameplate, stands for Turbo.
The front of the car is dominated by the unmistakable Ferrari grille which gives it an aura of power and sportiness. The small side air intakes, which look like fish gills, ventilate the intercoolers for the new turbocharged engine, while the front brake intakes are in the front underbody. The headlights have a sleek wedge shape and house LEDs.
The shape of the California Turbo is inspired by the 250 Testa Rossa’s famous pontoon-fender styling. Dynamically hugging the front wheel, the line of the flank stretches all the way back to the aerodynamic air vent behind the wheel arch. The new door designs are now even more sculpted, down to the new 19-inch or optional 20-inch forged wheels. What’s cool about this car is that it takes just 14 seconds to convert from a sophisticated coupe to a more chic, seductive spider!
When I stepped inside the car, it felt like I owned everything in this world. Great attention has given to creating extra space to stow items of your girlfriend (or whoever your passenger is). Cabin elements have been completely redesigned and carefully studied to combine exceptional standards of sportiness, comfort and elegance.
In terms of power, everyone knows that Ferrari engines are the products of cutting-edge, technological know-how that makes all of the Maranello-born cars unlike any other.
An astonishing new direct injection 3.9-liter V8 engine endows the California Turbo with 552 hp, which allows it to sprint from zero to 100 kph in just 3.6 seconds.
Turbo technology has an honorable place in the Prancing Horse’s engineering tradition, as seen in its iconic models such as the GTO of 1984 and the F40 of 1987.
To experience an exhilarating drive, George Ramirez—a well-known professional racer and instructor—designed a simple track on which we were tasked to do a full sprint, braking and maneuvering exercise. Flooring the pedal of the car was truly an awesome sensation. With a push on the gas pedal, the California T screamed like a cat! The sound became even more impressive as the revs increased.
On the short braking exercise, the California T was equally impressive. Thanks to new composite discs and pads integrated with the ESP 8.0 Premium system, which controls the high-performance ABS, the car is able to achieve extremely short stopping distances.
The California T also boasts of true sports car dynamics, too, thanks to reduced steering wheel activity and improved steering wheel response courtesy of a new steering box and new suspension setup. New springs and the latest-generation Magnaride dampers (now more than 50 percent faster) combined with body motion accelerometers reduce roll and pitch to deliver more precise handling while still guaranteeing an incredibly comfortable ride.
All told, the Ferrari California T driving experience was truly a memorable one.
You can put it in two words—California dreaming!
Image credits: Kris C. Lim