Riding al fresco provides unfettered access to the engine's idle-speed rumble, its mighty part-throttle roar, and its flat-out thunder all the way to the 8000-rpm redline. When you give this thing stick, paint chips fall from the tunnel ceilings and the roadside Roman temples tremble at their foundations. Fact is, the California has enough grunt to chase a F430 out of the fast lane. Its 4.3-liter V-8 develops 460 hp at 7750 rpm and 358 pound-feet at 5000 rpm. Even with the transmission in auto mode, the California needs only 3.9 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 62 mph. Launch-control mode reportedly shaves another tenth off that already-impressive number. The top speed is 193 mph. The Italians claim an average fuel consumption of 18 mpg.
Although Ferrari does offer optional twenty-inch wheels, the nineteen-inchers strike a compelling balance between traction, grip, and directional stability. We would also give the Magnaride option a pass. The standard, steel suspension is compliant, well balanced, and totally predictable in its responses. The only drawback concerns the disagreement between the somewhat harsh high-speed compression and the lazier rebound. No big deal, but an irritation nonetheless.
The dual-clutch transmission is the best gearbox of its kind we have tried so far. This has almost nothing to do with the shift times, which subjectively don't even feel as fast as in the Scuderia. Instead, it's the all-around performance. Take-off is spontaneous and totally devoid of hiccups or delays. Stop and go is commendably seamless. Upshifts are totally nod-free whether you drop the hammer or feather the throttle. Even in auto mode, the transmission comes very close to a conventional automatic in the way it reads the driver's right foot. Since the transmission always pre-selects the next gear, a split-second change of plan very rarely might find you in the wrong ratio, but the subsequent quick fix never entails undue harshness. Revs permitting, the gearbox will drop up to three ratios under kickdown. The only drawback we found is a short sixth gear, which runs out of steam at 181mph. You lose 2200 rpm on the upshift to seventh, and from that point it takes almost forever to reach the claimed top speed. ...next page >>