2011 Ferrari California 2011 FERRARI CALIFORNIA

Report: Ferrari California to Receive Mild Life Facelift with a Power Upgrade for 2012

Friday, October 28, 2011 |

[2011 Ferrari California pictured above]

When Ferrari launched the California in 2008, the hardtop roadster model was a novelty for Maranello. Despite objections from purists, Ferrari proved to be right and the California was a major sales success.

Not only did it boost the brand’s sales but it also succeeded in its original goal to bring in buyers who would only consider Aston Martins, Porsches and Bentleys as they found Ferraris to be impractical.

Now, according to CAR magazine, Ferrari’s front-engined V8 model is about to get a major overhaul for 2012, with production of the refreshed version beginning as early as January.

According to the report, you won’t be able to see the changes as the aluminum bodywork will remain unchanged save for a few details such as (optional) silver front grille, but the 2012MY California will be dramatically different under the skin.

First of all, the 460HP, 4.3-liter direct-injection V8 will receive better-machined internals such as an “optimized micro cast” exhaust manifold and a new ECU mapping that promise a significant boost in output.

The upgrades will result in the California gaining an extra 30 ponies for a total of 490HP while torque will be increased from 485 to 505.7 Nm (373 lb-ft).

The use of lighter materials in certain parts of the chassis will shave 30 kg (66.1 lbs) off the current model. The new California will continue to be available with a 7-speed F1 twin-clutch transmission, with Car stating that it will post a 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) time of 3.85 seconds, versus 4.0 second of its predessecor.

In addition, the optional Handling Speciale package will feature an upgraded SCM magnetorheological suspension control system reducing the ECU’s response time by 50 percent to just 5 ms. Who is counting, but the dampers will be able to go from the softest to the hardest setting in a mere 8 ms, resulting in improved response and agility.

Finally, Ferrari will increase the HDD infotainment system's capacity from 30GB to 40GB, and it'll sync with Apple and Android smartphones.

Of course, there’s been no word on pricing yet, but considering all the changes, buyers should expect a higher sticker than the 2011 model.

2011 FERRARI CALIFORNIA

Ferrari Celeritas Barchetta Concept

The Ferrari Celeritas that is the work of Aldo Schurmann, a student from the Istituto d’Arte Applicata e Design in Turin, Italy.

Schurmann's two-seater study for a barchetta-style Ferrari supercar is different and makes no apologies for that with its shape bringing to mind Formula One car's of the 1950's and 1960s.

The concept is pictured in several different colors but all feature a common matte black finish on the center parts of the car. It also gets a distinct pair of adjustable wings at the back.

second Red Bull of Mark Webber, The McLaren pilot

With the drivers’ title already decided, the only question before the red lights went off to signal the start of the Korean Grand Prix was whether Red Bull would manage to snag the constructors’ championship as well or if McLaren, the only team with a shot at the title, could keep its (admittedly slim) chances alive for yet another race.

As it turned out, McLaren couldn't. Despite Lewis Hamilton securing pole position on Saturday and Jenson Button taking third place on the grid, it took two-times world champion Sebastian Vettel less than half a lap into the race before overtaking Hamilton on the fourth corner.

From this point on, it was business as usual for the young German who built a comfortable lead and crossed the finish line first, with a 12-seconds difference from Hamilton.

The McLaren pilot raced side-by-side with the second Red Bull of Mark Webber, thankfully without the two cars coming into contact. Further back, Button squandered his good starting position by falling behind the Ferraris at the start of the race. He managed to overtake them during the first round of pit stops, and came very close to Webber and Hamilton, but was never fast enough to pass either.

Fernando Alonso didn’t have an easy race as for its most part he couldn’t get past his team mate, Felipe Massa. He did it in his final pit stop and then picked up his pace by 0.5 seconds a lap.

But the Spaniard found overtaking Button’s McLaren impossible, and after the race admitted defeat by saying “I just give up”.

As a reminder of who is the boss this year, despite having already secured his 10th win of the season, Vettel posted the fastest time of the race during the last lap…

Therefore, Red Bull bagged the constructor’s title, too, three races before the end of the season. “It’s phenomenal” was team’s boss Christian Horner comment on his team walking away with all the silverware for the second year in a row. "Phenomenal for the team, phenomenal for every single member of the Red Bull Racing / Red Bull Technology Group and for everyone working for Red Bull."

1974 Toyota Celica GT, Now a Faux Ferrari

The first generation if the Toyota Celica is somewhat of a cult hero here in Australia. Affordable, sporty-looking and well equipped at the time of its launch in the early 1970s, it proved a popular alternative to the heavier, thirstier American and Australian built offerings of the time.

Let’s put that aside for one moment and focus on our eBay entrant for today. It’s a 1974 Celica GT model that’s been the victim of one of the shoddier-looking Ferrari conversions featured on this site. It’s supposed to look like a 308 GTB, though at best it looks like a 400 that’s been severely shortened.

So, let’s see what the seller has to say about this thing, eh? Firstly, there’s this: “This is one of the first and original ferrinos. Not many around. Was built in Queensland and the body was supplied from Adelaide by creative body's. I have all paper work on the build and photos. Anything In the paper or magazines on the ferrino is also in the folder”. The latter scarily implies that someone at one of the major magazines or newspapers wasted perfectly good ink and paper writing about it.

Then there’s the usual, “Everyone will notice you but not for the reason’s you’re probably thinking off” stick that we’ve heard a hundred times before: “This is a rare chance to own a ferrari [sic] replica. If you want attention while you drive this is the car for you! Turns heads like nothing I've even driven”.

Unfortunately for all you would-be buyers (all six or seven of you, I suspect), this particular car has already been sold for the you-can’t-be-serious price of AU$4,050 (about the same in USD or €3,002).

Yes, someone actually paid money for the Celicarrari. You can check out our full gallery below and leave a comment if you wish.

By Tristan Hankins

Story sources: eBay

PHOTO GALLERY

F1, Ferrari, Mercedes, Racing, Red Bull, Reports PHOTO GALLERY

And then they were two… Mark Webber, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton are now officially out of the race for the world championship. After the end of the Singapore Grand Prix, only Jenson Button can, mathematically at least, challenge the reigning Formula 1 world champion, Sebastian Vettel in the remaining races.

For most of the Singapore GP Vettel cruised into another easy victory, his ninth this season, as he led from the start and started to build an early lead by being over a second faster on each lap than his rivals in the early part of the race.

On lap 27, his advantage was seriously diminished as the safety car came out due to a collision between Michal Schumacher and Sergio Perez. The two made contact and the German’s Mercedes-Benz racecar went airborne and ended up hitting the barriers, thankfully without any further consequences.

Vettel, however, was able to fend off the ensuing challenge from Button’s McLaren and he crossed the finish line first ahead of the Brit, Webber, Alonso and Hamilton.

Story sources: F1 & ESPN

RESULTS

PHOTO GALLERY

Ferrari 458 Italia PHOTO GALLERY

Almost everyone who has laid eyes on the Ferrari 458 Italia's bodywork will agree that it is a work of art. Even though Ferrari’s people claim that it was function, and especially aerodynamics, that dictated many elements of the 458 Italia's shape, it is perhaps one of the most striking supercars currently on sale along with the Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4.

Surely, no one would dare suggest otherwise, right? Well, not so fast. Olivier Demangel is a French designer and 3D artist who lives in London has cooked up three proposals for a redesigned 458 Italia.

The designer retained most of the Italian supercar’s sculpted lines, but added some new elements of his own.

Demangel says that version 0.5 (the silver car) is a lightly tuned version with subtle add-ons such as side skirts and a lower diffuser. The 458 Italia Version 1.0 takes the aftermarket approach one step further adding more side air vents, while Version 2.0 is, according to Demangel, a tribute to the legendary F40.

Just pass the jump to look at the pictures and watch the videos so you can judge for yourself if Messier Demangel’s proposals improve on the original.

All photos and video courtesy of Olivier Demangel

PHOTO GALLERY