Pros
- Compelling design with the top up or down
- New turbocharged power plant offers substantially more power
- Excellent braking capability
- Gets the grand touring fundamentals right
Cons
- Somewhat lackluster exhaust note
- Seats are not well bolstered and the standard seats lack lumbar support
- Improved looks, but mundane compared to the competition
Press cars come and go from my life on a regular basis, and it’s easy to get jaded along the way. But it’s a testament to the enduring charisma of the Ferrari Marque that I couldn’t help but beam with pride at the Rosso California red Ferrari drop-top that sat at the ready in my driveway shortly after its trailered delivery.
In years past, the California has been accused of being too aesthetically pedestrian and lacking the performance necessary to do the revered Ferrari name justice. But judging from the crowd of onlookers who gathered to gawk at the California T as it was unloaded from its metal cage, this hardtop convertible and its newly revised looks have no trouble turning heads among the many shiny objects vying for attention in Los Angeles.
And in terms of the latter accusation, the California T marks the Italian automaker’s first foray into turbocharging since the legendary F40 model of the 1980s. Much like the rest of the automotive industry, Ferrari is moving away from larger naturally aspirated engines toward smaller displacement motors that are supplemented by turbochargers.
In terms of sheer output, it means that the California T’s new twin turbocharged 3.9-liter V8 makes 553 horsepower and 557 pound-feet of torque, increases of 70 hp and a whopping 185 lb-ft over the outgoing model, which is enough to propel this 3,800-pound hardtop convertible to sixty miles per hour from rest in 3.6 seconds.
