Ferrari California

The Ferrari California is a grand touring sports car that was launched by Ferrari at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. It is a two door "2+2" hard top convertible. The California is powered by front-mid mounted gasoline direct injection 4.3 L (260 cu in) V8, sending a claimed 460 PS (340 kW; 450 hp). The car revives the "California" name used for the late-1950s Ferrari 250 GT.

According to industry rumors, the California originally started as a concept for a new Maserati, but the resulting expense to produce the car led the Fiat Group to badge it as a Ferrari in order to justify the high cost of purchase; the company denies this, however. The California represents a new, fourth model range for the company.

Production

The California will be built in a new production line adjacent to the existing factory at Maranello. The existing production line produces 27 cars per day, or 6,000 per annum. Ferrari plans to produce 5,000 Californias in the first two years of production, thereby increasing Ferrari production by 50% with introduction of this nameplate. The California, according to many motoring magazines, is sold out until 2011, with 60% of buyers being new to the Ferrari marque.

Design

The California represents a number of firsts for Ferrari:

The first front engined Ferrari with a V8
The first to feature a 7-speed dual clutch transmission
The first with a folding metal roof

The first with multi-link rear suspension
The first with direct petrol injection

Bosch produced the direct injection system. The engine displaces 4,297 cubic centimeters, delivering 338 kilowatts (460 horsepower) at 7,750 revs per minute, with a the maximum torque is 485 Newton meters at 5,000 revs per minute. The resulting 107 horsepower per litre of engine displacement is one of the highest for a naturally aspirated engine, as other manufacturers have used supercharging or turbocharging to reach similar power levels.

Performance

The California has a top speed of 310 km/h (193 mph) and it can accelerate from zero to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.4 seconds. Although 180 kilograms (397 lb) heavier and 30 PS (22 kW; 30 hp) less powerful than the mid-engined F430, the California reaches 60 mph (97 km/h) in the same time as the F430 due to the dual-clutch transmission.

Aerodynamics

Ferrari spent over 1,000 hours in the wind tunnel with a one-third-scale model of the California perfecting its aerodynamics. With the top up, the California has a drag coefficient of 0.32, making it the most aerodynamic Ferrari ever made.

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Ferrari 458 Italia

The Ferrari 458 Italia is a mid-engined sports car produced by the Italian sports car manufacturer Ferrari. The 458 Italia replaces the Ferrari F430.alt="New American Home" The 458 Italia was officially unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show on 15 September 2009.

Specifications

In Ferrari's first official announcement of the car, the 458 Italia was described as the successor to the F430 but arising from an entirely new design, incorporating technologies developed from the company's experience in Formula 1.

Engine

The 458 Italia is powered by a 4.5 L (270 cu in) V8 engine derived from a shared Ferrari/Maserati design, producing 570 PS (419 kW; 562 hp) at 9,000 rpm (redline) and 540 N·m (398 lb·ft) at 6,000 rpmalt="New American Home" with 80% torque available at 3,250 rpm.alt="New American Home" The engine features direct fuel injection, which is a first for Ferrari mid-rear engine setups in its road cars.

Transmission

The standard transmission is a Getrag dual-clutch 7-speed transmission, similar to the Ferrari California.alt="New American Home" There is no traditional manual option, making this the fourth road-car after the Enzo, Challenge Stradale and 430 Scuderia not to be offered with Ferrari's classic gated manual. It is the first mainstream model to not be offered with a manual transmission.

Handling

The car's suspension features double wishbones at the front and a multi-link set-up at the rear, coupled with E-Diff and F1-Trac traction control systems, designed to improve the car's cornering and longitudinal acceleration by 32% when compared with its predecessors.alt="New American Home"

The brakes include a prefill function whereby the pistons in the calipers move the pads into contact with the discs on lift off to minimize delay in the brakes being applied.alt="New American Home" This combined with the ABS has reduced 100–0 km/h (62-0 mph) braking distance to 32.5 metres (107 ft).alt="New American Home"

The adaptive magnetorheological dampers are co-developed with BWI Group.



Performance

Ferrari's official 0-100 km/h (62 mph) acceleration is under 3.4 seconds,alt="New American Home" while top speed is over 325 km/h (202 mph), with a fuel consumption in combined cycle (ECE+EUDC) 13.3 L/100 km (21.2 mpg-imp; 17.7 mpg-US) while producing 307g/km of CO2.

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