If you’re been thinking about getting yourself a Ferrari California, then tough luck for you. You won’t be able to get one for more than two years’ time. Ferrari just announced that their new coupe-roadster has just sold out until 2011 despite a 2000 car/year manufacturing pace.

That’s quite an astonishing thing since not every car maker is enjoying such patronage and Ferrari is just piling their sales figures on both in Europe and in the US. Being able to do that in the midst of a financial crunch is really something.

The California is powered by a 4.3L V8 dishing out 460 hp which is mated to a 7-speed dual clutch transmission. Naught to sixty clocks in at under 4 seconds and it can reach a top speed of 193mph.

The car’s priced similarly to the F430 but is made to be just a bit more usable. Buyers have the option to get a two-seater or a 2+2 configuration. Covering the top is a foldable metal roof.

Oh and they said boys don’t like gossip. Well, probably because we rarely go for the what’s what with Hollywood couples but let out a rumor regarding a new range-topping Ferrari and we’re sure to be on it like fat kids on a cupcake.

Spy shots of a supposed FXX test mule have been making rounds around the Net. Many speculate that it’s the Enzo replacement and rumor now has it that an internal memo has confirmed this and has revealed a few more details regarding the car. But don’t get too excited, folks. Nothing sucks more than getting your high hopes shot down.

The Ferrari will be dubbed as the FX150 will be powered by a mid-mounted V8 turbo that produces a staggering 794-hp. (How did they manage to get that much power out of a V8?) The engine is mated to a 7-speed gearbox and this allows the car to go from 0-60 in 2.7 seconds and a top speed of near Veyron-esque 242 mph.

The memo also states that the car will have extensive use of carbon-fiber body panels and chassis to get the car’s weight in a slim 2,866 lbs. The car is expected to be priced $1.7-1.9M. Damn!

A good dose of talent. A few minutes with Photoshop. Then it’s a rave fest for geek gearheads. Sometimes fans just can trump design houses any day. While the actual project is still filed under rumors, Jon Sibal has been gracious enough to give all of us a sneak peak of how the Scud would look like topless.

No one has spotted any test mule yet and it might be a while before someone does. So until then, we have these renderings to give us a visual treat. Very nice work on it too. A few blurred details and smudges but hey, at least it gives us something to look at.

We just hope that this car will still sport the 4.3L v8 that dishes out 510 horsepower and offer pretty much the same performance as its hard top counterpart. Come on, engineers, do your thing.

Source: Jon Sibal

Sometimes you have to wonder whether psychologists just have a tad too much time on their hands. They just come up with all sorts of studies for the benefit of humankind. Even, if say, the most that they can actually do for most is to amuse us.

Just check out the results of this study they conducted correlating sound from a car’s engine to men and women responses. They took the sounds of a Maserati, a Lamborghini and a Ferrari, and a Volkswagon Polo then collected saliva specimen collected to check testosterone levels. And they found out that the sound does affect bodily responses.

The results found 100 per cent of female participants had a significant increase in testosterone secretion after listening to the Maserati, compared to only half for men.

Men fared better at the sound of a Lamborghini, with 60 per cent showing a testosterone increase.

I wonder how the Ferrari fared. The VW apparently caused a decrease in testosterone levels. Quite unfair for the VW. Even if they didn’t cite the engine displacements on the sports cars, I could only infer that the Polo only sports a 1.6L engine. Imagine what kind of “roar” that makes. That also shows that if you want to get some in-car action, better get the Maserati or better yet, plastic surgery.

Well, my conjecture still stays - the number of decibels the engine dishes out is inversely proportional to the size of a guy’s penis.

Source: The Telegraph

Summer’s over and yet it’s only these last few weeks that we get to see these babies go topless. They Veyron finally shed of its top and now it’s Ferrari’s turn. No one has really seen mules or prototypes anywhere but word has it that Ferrari will be shaving the top off of the F430 Scuderia.

The 430 Scud is already a great car and it would amaze me, yet again, how they’d be able to match the performance of the hardtop with the convertible. They somehow did it in the regular F430 Spider but the Scud is the improved lightweight version and they’d be making the Scud Spider a bit heftier for supports unless of course, they make this a targa.

Since this is only a rumor, we might just have to speculate that the car will still sport the 4.3L v8 that dishes out 510 horsepower. Whether Michael Schumacher will be unveiling this one, we’ll just have to wait for more definitive details on the car.

Step one in Ferrari’s move to reorganize how it deals with the market. Ferrari just cancelled all dealer contracts effective June 30, 2010. That means you won’t be able to buy a Ferrari unless you get them from Ferrari.

Not too many dealers are confident that their contracts will be resurrected eventually. Ferrari’s German dealerships are set to take the biggest hits as sources indicate that six out of the nineteen authorized sellers’ contracts will not be renewed.

How this will affect Ferrari’s business remains to be seen. But as far as my experience with sales and marketing (in general goes), consolidation and exclusivity can be a bad move. Still, Ferrari’s a high-end luxury product and building and selling the cars themselves might give Ferrari a better stance in the market.

Source: Automotive News (subs. required)

Remember this Ferrari F430 that runs on biofuel? Well, it seems that this wouldn’t be the last time Ferrari will be concerning itself with some nature-saving efforts. Luca Cordero di Montezemolo told the press that Ferrari wants to cut down their fleets CO2 emissions by 40% by 2012.

And yes, they will be looking at hybrid technology to do so, claiming that, despite being a hybrid, it will still be “fundamentally a Ferrari.” Which, in my opinion, doesn’t make sense. Aren’t Ferrari’s supposed to be loud, fast, flashy, and nothing like the Prius? And when did Saudi princes ever needed to consider buying hybrids anyway?

Still, the likeliness of one emerging from Ferrari’s programs is highly possible. With Formula 1 pushing teams to develop green race cars, whatever development Ferrari can create can surely filter to their sports cars.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

Winding Road embedded this YouTube video of what they consider as the worst Ferrari car kit ever. I’ve probably seen worse ricing done on cars as I’ve seen plain old Lancers sporting pathetic Evo body kits (with those humongous wings and 14-inch stock rims). But I’d have to say this is really, really bad. I mean just look at this side-by-side comparison.

It was built using a Pontiac Fiero. But come one! You can’t do such a shabby job and try to pass it on as a Ferrari!

This is the way to do it. From a Toyota MR2 to a Ferrari F355.

I just can go on and on about the beauty of tuning. And with the right amount of cash, available technology and know-how, you can really push an already great car to the borders of Clarkson-esque “Absolutely bonkers!” Like this one by Edo Competition for example.

They got an already-great Ferrari Enzo (which already produces 650-hp from a 6.0L V12) then tweaked it some to put 50 more horses, boosting overall power to 700 hp and 527 lb-ft of torque. The numbers - 0-62mph in 3.5 seconds and 0-124mph in a sub-10 9.5 second effort. Now that’s how you make a fast car even faster.

Edo Competition slapped on a high-flow catalytic converter, performance muffler, modified intakes and recalibrated the ECU to produce such results. Other mods include an adjustable exhaust sound level, sport suspensions, high performance clutch and a new transmission unit giving this Enzo the same shift times as the FXX Evoluzione.

Source: Edo Competition

It’s nice to see how car companies are maximizing the use of the web for their releases. Like this awesome launch site for the upcoming Ferrari GT all with bells and whistles of a countdown site ready to make every geek gearhead eagerly anticipate what’s in store for the public come a few weeks time or so.

So far the site offers just a few bits of detail, particularly just a few audio clips of that Ferrari GT engine roaring to life and burning down the blacktop. To be made available are a downloads section (wallpapers galore, IMHO), a gallery (the “See” portion) and probably a video section (as I wonder what the “Feel” section contains). Now, if they can only add “Smell” and “Taste” there.

I like this whole sensory take on the car with a few more features to be available in the coming weeks as expected. But come on. A typical suburban garage door for a Ferrari?