Why Is The Ferrari California Named After The Sunshine State?
The top is down, the skies are blue, and the wind whips through the driver's hair as the convertible dashes along some scenic road: it's a scene used to sum up and sell the California lifestyle. What better way to sell a car to Americans (or anyone dreaming of California and the open road) than to evoke the imagery of that sprawling state? Ferrari did just that when it named the 250 California.
Ferrari began courting the American market, specifically, back in 1950. The automaker reworked its 340 F1 into a production car and called it the 340 America, a V-12 available in Spider, Berlinetta, and Coupé body styles.
In the next few years, the company produced another America, a Mexico, and even a 410 Superamerica to win over New World fans. Then, in 1957, Ferrari unveiled the 250 California. A two-seater available only as a convertible (or Spider, as Ferrari calls it), this left-hand drive car with a V-12 for the open road probably owes its beginnings to the influence of John Von Neumann, a Ferrari West Coast representative. He thought the manufacturer could easily sell a sleek convertible, like the popular 250 GT Berlinetta, to the sun worshippers. Importer Luigi Chinetti took the idea to Enzo Ferrari, who greenlit the car. It was based on the 250 GT Berlinetta, but called a Spider to differentiate it from the 250 GT cabriolets. Ferrari named it California to sell that dream of sun, sunglasses, glamour, and car culture to Americans.
How many different California models has Ferrari made?
The first California was made until 1963, with Ferrari building only 106 of them. The next iteration was even more exclusive: only 14,365 Californias were built. This luxury convertible was unveiled at the 1966 Geneva Show with a high-performance 4.4-litre V12.
The next California model arrived 40 years later, in 2008. Evoking the performance and style of the 250 California, this 8-cylinder was exclusively a convertible, albeit with a modern, retractable, folding hard top. Ferrari's 2008 model was a 2-seater or 2+, and was also available in an ocean-blue Azzurro California paint color created especially for it.
2012 saw the release of the California 30 grand tourer. Its name derived from the car being 30 kilos lighter and 30 hp more powerful than the 2008 California, cranking out about 490 hp with a top speed around 193 mph. The 2-seat or 2+ with-Isofix-attachment configurations let drivers get their clubs to the links or their cubs to the preschool in style — and in record time. It was, notably, one of Ferrari's last manual gearboxes.
The most recent modelis the 2014 Ferrari California T, powered by one of Ferrari's best engines. A V8 convertible with a top speed of 196 mph, Ferrari put its 552 horsepower to best use by lowering the engine (and its center of gravity) to improve handling.
Will there be another California? If so, it might need to be electric.