Ferrari California gallery: 40 photos >>


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Ferrari California under spotlight at the Paris Auto Show

The Ferrari stand at this year's Paris Auto Show hosts the official unveiling of the stunning new Ferrari California, the coupé-cabriolet that has been the talk of the world media over the last several months. The car has been generating enormous interest amongst both those directly involved in the industry and the public at large as a result of a particularly innovative communications strategy which has seen it previewed in stages in a series of initiatives that have involved clients, members of the media and enthusiasts from all over the world.

The Ferrari California has attracted enormous attention because it is an extremely innovative car inspired by the spirit and driving pleasure of one of the great Ferraris of the past, the 1957 250 California. The new car joins the predominantly high performance 8-cylinder range and also flanks the 12-cylinder flagship, the 612 Scaglietti, in the Grand Tourer category. The Ferrari California is a car with the track in its DNA. It brims with innovation and will more than fulfil the expectations of even our most discerning clients, offering breathtaking driving pleasure and fun behind the wheel as well as extreme versatility of use and in-car comfort. In line with Ferrari tradition, this model positively brims with innovative features. In addition to its retractable hard top and the original 2+ concept, the new Prancing Horse car also offers: a new direct injection V8 engine, a 7-speed gearbox with steering wheel-mounted F1-style paddles coupled with a new dual clutch, a new suspension system (double wishbones at the front and multilink at the rear), the new evolved F1-Trac traction control system and Brembo brakes with CCM (carbon ceramic material) discs as standard (this latter feature is shared by the other models in the current range).

Interestingly the web played a pivotal role in the communications strategy used to preview the California over the last few months. In May, Ferrari launched a dedicated website (www.ferraricalifornia.com) which featured a countdown to the publication of the very first photos of the car, and was updated periodically with information and interesting facts about the car. Visitors to ferraricalifornia.com were also able to watch the Ferrari California world preview live on September 18th thanks to streaming of the event.

The aforementioned preview took place simultaneously in Maranello and Los Angeles, and was attended by over 2,000 specially invited guests. At Santa Monica private airport, where the American event was staged in the presence of Ferrari Vice President Piero Ferrari, a special charity auction also saw a new Ferrari California sold for $520,000. The car was presented in Maranello by Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo who was flanked by Scuderia Ferrari drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa. Michael Schumacher was on hand too as he has been involved in the development of the Prancing Horse's latest Grand Tourer since its inception.

Also showing at the Ferrari stand is a video directed by Michael Mann which was inspired by the emotion of driving the car in its natural habitat, the stunning coastal highways and roads of California.

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Posted on May 13, 2008, 2:21 pm

New Ferrari California revealed. First photographs now available online

The latest Prancing Horse GT was revealed to the world for the first time at 11.00 this morning on the www.ferraricalifornia.com in a series of three photographs.

The new Ferrari California won't, however, be officially unveiled until October 1st next at the Paris Car Show. However, it will be revealed bit by bit to enthusiasts on a special dedicated site (accessible also via the www.ferrariworld.com official site) between now and then.

The www.ferraricalifornia.com site has been up and running under theferrarigtcontdown name since last Friday and, purely on the strength of word of mouth between Ferrari fans on the web, it attracted over 60,000 hits from all over the world in just one weekend. A total of 15% of these have already registered to ensure that they will be kept informed by email of the new revelations about the car between now and its virtual road tests.

The site launch immediately attracted worldwide attention: most of the first 60,000 visitors were American, followed by Italians and then enthusiasts from other European countries. The site also received a large number of hits from China, Japan and the Asia-Pacific region in general.

Having first showcased the sound of the Ferrari California's new 8-cylinder engine, the sensory journey of discovery continued today with the publication of the first three photographs of the car which provide a tantalising glimpse of its style. For now enthusiasts will have to content themselves with poring over one - front, one - rear and one side view photograph. However, over the next few weeks, new photographs will be posted of the cabin and the other details that make this car as unique every Ferrari.

Needless to say, the Ferrari California is brimming with technological innovations and the www.ferraricalifornia.com will be the site to watch to keep abreast of revelations of every last detail of the new car before it is unveiled "in the flesh" at Paris.

Ferrari California gallery: 40 photos >>

Text and photos: Ferrari