More Glamour Shots of the 2009 Ferrari California

Ferrari's latest release on its new 2009 California convertible is little more than a half-dozen photos, but we're not complaining. The car is easy on the eyes (yes, even in this odd shade of blue - er, Azzurro California), and we're getting our first glance at the folding top mechanism. Top down, the California sports a dynamic rear form, making the most of dramatic rear fenders and a massive kick-up aft of the doors. We're happy to see that deploying the hardtop doesn't ruin the car's form; rather, it curves nicely into the California's haunches, although it is a tad evocative of the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren's roofline. That top only eats up approximately four cubic feet of storage space in the California's trunk. In hardtop form, the car can handle 13 cubic feet of cargo; that drops to nine in sunny weather. That's hardly spacious, but it is two-to-three cubic feet more than that offered by a new Mercedes-Benz SL550. Ferrari's also revealing small details - for instance, the car delivers 154 lbs of downforce at 125 mph, makes use of a new seven-speed dual clutch transmission with launch control, returns an approximate combined fuel economy rating of 18 mpg, and, after a high-speed jaunt, won the love of Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo "I'm thrilled," he said. Who wouldn't be?