Tom LaPointe's Exotic Car Lifestyle Notebook

Ramblings on exotic cars, the car market, and things with wheels overall. We especially love Rolls-Royce, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche, and all the events where you find them.

About Me

My Photo
Name:
Location: Dunedin, Florida, United States

I currently publish iParent Magazine in the Tampa Bay area and work as a freelance writer for Affluent Page Index, in NYC. I grew up in Michigan near the Motor City and finished high school in Fernley NV. After attending the University of Nevada as a music major, I joined the Marine Corps as a combat correspondent. As a writer and editor, I won many publishing awards for photography, writing and editing. What led me to the auto industry is simply this: I love cars. I have raced stock cars and sports cars and competed in Land Rover off-road competitions in Vermont and Colorado. I have been a pit official for the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring, and a pit crewman for Indy and a Hooters Pro Cup races. I've served as a manager of both sales and service for one the largest luxury car groups in the world. I'm still active as an off-road instructor for Land Rover and HUMMER dealers and owners. I enjoy crawling an off-road vehicle through the most severe obstacles as much as heel-toeing sports cars into hairpin turns! I am also a freelance writer for several automotive publications.

May 23, 2008

Ferrari releases California photos

A week in advance of their website countdown, Ferrari released photos of the upcoming California spider 2+2 GT. As a vehicle which can either be seen as a scaled-up F430 or scaled-down 612 Scaglietti, the Italian carmaker seems poised to launch a shot into Porsche's Turbo Cab niche. The new grand tourer is Ferrari's first with a front/mid engine V8.
DOWNLOAD FREE DESKTOP WALLPAPER

Boasting an updated version of the 4.3 liter in the F430with direct injection, a twin-clutch, seven-speed transmission, and 454 horsepower, the newest prancing horse puts the proverbial cherry on top with a retractable hardtop.

The official Ferrari press release (download here) boasts projected acceleration to 60mph in less than four seconds. The new model is filled with a host of technical goodies, including F1-trac traction control from the 599 Fiorano. With the new model, Ferrari seems poised to carve a larger piece of the sports car pie for itself, as it adds new models, as well as several new dealership. Such growth may mean that Ferrari will lose some of its exclusivity, but more Ferraris from more places are a win-win for the sports car buyer. MORE PHOTOS HERE


Labels: , , , , , , ,

posted by Tom LaPointe | 11:37 PM