It’s never a tough idea to watch video of a Ferrari taking an aggressive stroll down a winding Italian road, and the originative types at Ferrari were kind enough to produce exactly that. To sweeten the pot, the video features the reworked 2013 California, with 490 horsepower and a significant weight savings of 70 pounds.
The enhanced 4.3-liter V8 also makes its audio debut in the post-jump video, and our ears can’t get enough of the sweet Italian music. You also get to see just how quickly and efficiently the California’s retractable hardtop stows in its boot. Hit the jump to watch and hear the 2013 Ferrari California in Maranello.
Ferrari has worked hard over the past several years at differentiating its products from each other. Where its lineup once consisted principally of mid-engined supercars of different sizes, today’s range includes as well a front-engined GT, an all-wheel-drive shooting brake and a 2+2 hardtop cabriolet. The latter is known as the California, and while it surely serves a purpose in Maranello’s catalog, it’s hardly the most heart-pumping Prancing Horse on offer.
That’s where these spy shots come in. Following reports that Ferrari was preparing to update the cabrio with a compounding of increased engine output and reduced weight, we’ve now got the spy shots to prove it.
This test mule seen driving Ferrari’s private Fiorano test track and the vicinity, aside from sporting a rather garish red and black color paint and wrap job, has its hood entirely carved up like a pumpkin. There’s a pair of NACA ducts on the nose, some strange bulbous protrusion on the passenger side, and the whole hood doesn’t seem to want to close. The question is, what’s that modified hood hiding?
According to our paparazzi on the scene, the prototype had a distinctive turbo wail. If that’s the case, this would be the first time Ferrari’s used forced induction on a road car since the F40. Whether the upgrades will feature on a straightforward update for the California or breed a more hard-core version along the lines of the 430 Scuderia or 599 GTO remains to be seen, but Ferrari obviously has something up its sleeve for its most sedate model.
Ferrari California sports More Economical and Less Polluting Sports
One of the novelties of Ferrari will be an environmentally friendly version of the Ferrari California sports. But forget the inclusion of systems such as start / stop (which turns off the engine when the car stopped, turning on again when the accelerator pedal is pressed), or hybrid drive, with a combustion engine working in conjunction with an electric.
To reduce the two consumption and pollutant emissions will be adopted such items as parts that offer less friction between the internal engine parts, better aerodynamic efficiency, weight and cylinder deactivation system from Ferrari California sports.
