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Ferrari CEO has personally put down speculation on whether the brand will build a four door car just like its arch rival Porsche. Speaking to automotorundsport.de, Luca Di Montezemolo said: "Ferrari is all about sportiness in the most pure form of the word, and that doesn't involve SUV's or four-door saloons. A Ferrari can't have more than two doors." Perhaps, if one insists of getting a four-door Ferrari, the nearest thing he can settle for is the Maserati Quattroporte or the 2014 Ghibli sedan, which is the upcoming entry-level sedan for the Italian brand. Montezemolo added that the California (above) is as low as they are willing to go. About 70% of the buyers of the California are first time Ferrari owners and Ferrari feels that it is attracting enough new buyers and hence a cheaper model is unnecessary. Ferrari should be praised for sticking to its guns in spite of the market trends. Brand image is definitely more important than bottom line to the prancing horse.

The above picture, courtesy of carnewschina.com, shows an interior of a Ferrari California with the seats covered with two layers of protectors. Interestingly, when most owners prefer to feel the exquisite leather of the Prancing Horse, this owner appears to be overly protective of his precious supercar. Making things worse is a towel placed on top of the arm rest at the central tunnel. The photo is apparently taken at city of Ningbo in Zhejiang Province, China. No doubt, the owner probably wants to protect the leather surface from stains and blemishes. But in the process of doing so, the classy feel of the interior is compromised. Probably signing up for a routine leather grooming package would be a better idea. The cost should be peanuts compared to the price paid for the car, which is 3.48 million yuan (S$682,000). Below is the interior of the Ferrari California in its virgin, luxurious state.

[extract] Ferrari is recalling some V8 powered Ferrari 458 Italia and Ferrari California cars worldwide. It seems the recalled cars had their engines built with a slightly faulty crankshaft which may cause engine failure in the affected cars. Now unlike bread and butter cars, a Ferrari's engine may cost a kidney or two and even people who could afford a Ferrari may weep at the cost of an engine rebuild. While this s a global recall, it isn't as wide spread as you may think

[extract] Outgoing SMRT CEO, Saw Phaik Hwa, must be the envy of many car enthusiasts. She earned $1.85 million in year 2010 and owns two luxury cars, namely a Ferrari California and Mercedes-Benz S500L. She can choose to enjoy some topless fun in the prancing horse or get pampered in the luxurious S-Class sedan. The combined cost of both cars comes close to about $1.3m. I guess I won

Ferrari has not slowed down development of its other baby Ferrari, the California. The Ferrari California is already a favourite to those who never thought of owning a Ferrari before due to its easy going nature (compared to other red blooded Ferraris). It is actually the first Ferrari that you could actually drive to the market and back without its driver feeling intimidated by it. And for 2012 the Ferrari California will have more Italian horses, goes on a diet and has better running shoes. This car will be 30bhp up from the previous year's model and also up to 30kg lighter than before. It will also have a quicker steering rack and more responsive dampers than before if one opts for the new handling package. This allows the 2012 Ferrari California to reach 100km/h from zero in 3.8seconds. The car is scheduled for its first unveiling at the Geneva Motor Show in March. Ferrari has basically upped the California's 4.3liter V8 engine to 438bhp. This was achieved with new exhaust manifolds and a new engine map. Torque is about 503Nm at 5000rpm and the torque curve has been made better by having higher torque output throughout the rev range. The 2012 Ferrari California is also lighter as Ferrari has introduced new aluminium fabrication and construction methods. These new techniques have made the car 30kg lighter without any loss of structural rigidity. Ferrari has also decided to introduce a handling kit for the California. The 'Handling Speciale' package includes steering and suspension upgrades for the car. The HS pack will make the very relaxed (for a Ferrari) California into a more driver oriented car. The HS equipped Ferrari California will include reprogrammed control software for the magnetorheological adjustable dampers. The dampers themselves will have lower-friction seals that will allow the suspension, which has springs 15% stiffer to improve body control, to respond up to 50 per cent faster to bumps. The California's steering rack with the HS pack will be 10 per cent quicker. I suppose Ferrari, while noting that the California is liked by non-fans and has actually helped Ferrari gain a whole new category of customers especially those who used to drive Mercedes Benz SL, Porsche 911 and BMW 6 series cabriolets. But Ferrari has decided that the California needed a performance package to appeal to its more traditional customers therefore broadening the Ferrari California's customer base.

[extract] The Ferrari California is a V8 powered Ferrari that isn't that extrovert in its looks and was built for a different sort of market compared to its other V8 powered sibling, the 458 Italia. This is one that feels at home puttering around at slower speeds, around Orchard Road, the Marina area, the Cote D'Azur, Beverly Hills and other happy shopping/pleasure/leisure zones. In fact it looks more Maserati than Ferrari. Especially its stance and posture

[extract] A supercar usually guzzles petrol and spits out carbon faster than you can say