Re: Test drove the California today
ISUK:
Nick,
I'm not sure if you've seen this car in person yet? I can appreciate that you don't care for it's styling from photographs but in real life the proportions come across much better. The driving experience is also much better than I think you are expecting it to be. The pace is not far off a 430 even though the car has deliberately been held back in an effort to make it more comfortable which the engineers have succeeded in doing remarkably well.
Elijah997's points echo exactly what was said at the world launch. It gives Ferrari a car to appeal to new customers and to satisfy existing ones who want a more usable daily but don't want a V12. I personally don't think it will harm the brand at all as it won't be produced in vast numbers.
It is true I have not seen it in person and suspect will like it better when I do. Nevertheless, I don't believe it will WOW me. It will not get my juices flowing with "I gotta have one". What I will feel is this is a low end Ferrari designed to catered to rich women and men who have no interest in performance but who want to say they own a Ferrari.
The whole point of a Ferrari is (I know this sounds crazy) is NOT TO BE A DAILY CAR. It is to have a car totally different than any other with a sense of occasion to be driven at those special times.
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