Following on from my friend Robs report from the Larborghini superlegga last week, here’s my impressions of the new Ferrari California the new café cruise Ferrari built for poodle carrying and Hollywood boulevard cruising. Brenden and I picked up the car from P1’s showroom in Mosman and made a snaking manoeuvre through some the best roads we could find towards the south.
This cars so new everyone wants to stare at the thing and in typical Fezza colours of Red and Tan interior it had wanker mobile to the max written all over it. It seemed fitting for the situation, there was only one thing to do, and that was to act like the biggest Ferrari owning tossers you could.
Roof down and air-con on full power of course was the first thing to register on the ‘wank meter’ (which is selectable from the colour LCD screen in the dash). Trying to wear the biggest pair of sunglasses you can find was the 2nd item of agenda to enhance our wanker status.
We did find guys in utes don’t like noisy Red Italian supercars, with a few fingers hanging out their windows and obscene comments, oh well, at least we were getting the smiles from the ladies and being chased by some girl in a delivery van on Military road.
We stopped by at Lamborghini Sydney to annoy them by parking a shiny new Red Ferrari out on the pavement right in front of the showroom. This seemed to really annoy the staff, so they challenged us to a ‘Rev-off’. The Ferrari Cali went first, then the LP560 screamed back. Back and forth the rev’s went, V8 versus Lambo V10. In the end it was voted the Lambo won it with its deeper more menacing growl and we buggered off sharpish to not show our defeat and headed towards the hills.
Turning up to Lamborghini Sydney to park
right out the front of the showroom
During the ‘Rev-off’
On the country roads of the RNP and in particular on a empty road going up the Macquarie pass we had simply an AMAZING drive. We put the roof down (which in itself is worth a big mention, amazingly clever and FAST) and the new DFI V8 engine was popping and cracking as if tree’s were cracking from the exhausts sound wave. The engine sounded just sensational bouncing off the Macquarie pass rock faces, we were just laughing our heads off to the backfiring, it didn’t sound right at all, it sounded like the engine was having a fit, it just made us laugh even harder.
The single most impressive item of the car though is without a doubt the dual clutch 7 speed gearbox. Stupendously fast doesn’t even cover it, we swear you hit the paddle and the box changes gear BEFORE the LCD display showing the gear has had time to change. And it’s not a jolting quick like a Lambo e-gear, oh no, if you’ve been in a GTR R35, you will know what it feels like just add more POWER.
Pausing in the Royal National Park on my favourite road.
Special mention has to be given to the new Manettino switch on the steering wheel which has some ‘softer’ settings more in tune with the cars ‘style’ and target market. The traction control off position (straight up position) had a warning ‘Never use!’, we were too scared to touch it.
The new Maranello switch for the California with its ‘softer’ settings
On the way back we had to do what every self-loving Ferrari owner should do and take it through the Maccers drive-thru.
This seemed to turn into a good idea when the Red Bull girls turned up and started using our car as a make shift photo booth, handing out Red Bull cans from the car. Soon we had a small possie of delinquents salivating over the $600k wank machine including a riced up Lexus owner with 20″ mag’ who didn’t like us at all with the number plate ‘IHATV8s’.
We told the Red Bull girls I would take them out in of my many boats and they gave Brenden their email addresse and left. Upon checking the Ferraris ‘wank meter’ it was now showing to near Max, but we were both done for the day and we started our journey back along the Hume Hwy.
And here are the Red Bull girls obviously enjoying the Ferrari…
um – is she wearing thong/boots ??? wtf ?
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It may be the new softer Ferrari but it was a hell of a fun drive being a Ferrari tosser for the day, I’ll have the keys back to my Little Loti now please 🙂
The interior felt like it sacrificed about 100 cows
P.S Happy birthday Brenden!