The 2012 California gets more power and less weight
Update: We’d expected to see the California go up in price by around £10k, but Ferrari tell us that the new price – £152,086, up from £146,960 – is not related to the California updates but just an annual increase of 3.4 per cent levied from January. Ferrari also tell us that the Handling Package Speciale will cost £4,320.
We reported back in October that we expected the Ferrari California to get a nip and tuck for 2012, shed a few pounds and find a few more horses in time for a public debut at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. And that’s exactly what’s happening.
The California’s V8 gets wrung out to produce an extra 30bhp (now with 490bhp) and an extra 15lb/ft of torque, thanks to a tweak to the ECu and a new exhaust manifold. The extra power reduces the California’s 0-62mph to 3.8 seconds (0.1 improvement).
The performance gain might not sound huge, but we’re sure it will be felt, especially with an additional 30kg shaved off the weight thanks to liberal use of aluminium in the chassis, which Ferrari say has been achieved without any loss of rigidity.
If you want a bit more dynamism from your California, you can now opt for the ‘Handling Package Speciale’ for the California, which offers magnetic dampers, stiffer springs and a faster turn-in thanks to smaller steering wheel angles from the new steering box.
As well as the oily tweaks, Ferrari is offering a more extensive range of paint finishes, including two-tone finishes and new versions of Ferrari’s classic colour palette. Of course, if your pockets are deep enough Ferrari will do anything you want.
The 2012 Ferrari California will debut at Geneva next month, but so far we don’t have prices. We’re expecting it to cost about £10k more (£155k plus), and we’ll update when we know.
Have your say - leave a comment