`Budget' Ferrari California to debut in Paris

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Powered by a 4.3 L 454 hp engine, the California will be the first ever front-engined V8 Ferrari and will feature a folding hardtop.

Gerry Malloy

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Among the most highly regarded and sought after of non-racing Ferraris is the lovely California Spyder, designed in 1957 as a one-off prototype by Pininfarina on the 250 GT chassis. About 105 production models based on that design were subsequently built by Scaglietti, from 1959 to 1963, one of which sold recently at an RM auction in Maranello, home of Ferrari, for a record price of about $11 million.

Now Ferrari is resurrecting the California name for its newest model, which will be introduced to the world this fall at the Paris auto show.

Like the original, it will be a convertible but it will have a folding hardtop, not a soft top. It, too, will be front-engined but the engine will be a V8, not a V12 – the first front-engined V8 Ferrari ever.

Its 4.3-litre, 454-hp powerplant will also be the first-ever Ferrari engine to employ gasoline direct injection, and it will reportedly feature a flat-plane (180-degree) crankshaft, which should give it a unique sound.

In addition, it will be the first Ferrari to feature a seven-speed, dual-clutch transmission, mounted at the rear in combination with the differential.

It is expected to accelerate from 0-to-100 km/h in less than four seconds. Ceramic brakes will be an available option.

Of course it won't be cheap, but some sources speculate that it will be priced below the mid-engined F430 – at about $186,000, it's Ferrari's current price leader – to attract potential buyers of Porsches and other lower-priced cars.

Mazda RX-8 gets a redo

Mazda Canada says the first shipments of its 2009 RX-8 four-door, four-seat sports cars will soon be in dealer showrooms, with a base price of $37,295.

Along with refreshed exterior and interior designs and enhanced performance it offers a new, optional R3 sport package "for the ultimate driving enthusiast."

Exterior refinements include restyled front and rear bumpers and front fascia, new front and rear lamps, and larger exhaust pipes. Also offered is a new five-spoke wheel with a sporty design symbolic of the car's rotary engine, with different details for each wheel size.

Interior enhancements include a redesigned centre stack, a new steering wheel, and redesigned front and rear seats.

Body rigidity has been increased through the addition of structural reinforcements.

In addition, the rear suspension geometry has been reconfigured for better handling and driveshaft rigidity has been increased to improve performance.

The optional R3 sport package, which harkens back to the R1 and R2 packages offered on the third-generation RX-7, adds a sport-tuned suspension with Bilstein shock absorbers and front suspension cross-members filled with urethane foam, making for a smoother ride, the carmaker says.

It also includes a rear spoiler, side-sill cladding, foglights and a sportier front bumper, along with 19-inch forged aluminum-alloy wheels with high performance tires.

Inside, the R3 adds a 300-watt Bose audio system with surround sound and noise compensation technology, a Bluetooth hands-free phone system, front Recaro sport seats, leather trim bits, and a keyless entry and start system.

Significantly, warranty coverage on the RX-8's Renesis rotary engine has been extended to eight years or 160,000 kilometres (whichever comes first). Additionally, Mazda will extend this engine warranty retroactively to all existing 2004-2008 model year RX-8s.

Mazda says the warranty extension is proof of the company's faith in the rotary engine, which has been a hallmark of the company's engineering prowess since 1967 when it first appeared in the Cosmo Sport 110S.

Caddy CTS-V is hot

After proclaiming last month that Cadillac's CTS-V is the fastest sedan to ever lap the famous Nurburgring (on street tires), GM has released performance figures suggesting that it is among the quickest sedans on the market as well.

The company says its 6.2 L V8 engine has been SAE-certified to produce 556 horsepower at 6100 rpm and 551 lb.-ft. of torque at 3800 rpm.

According to GM's figures, it will accelerate from 0-to-96 km/h in 3.9 seconds and cover a quarter-mile drag strip in 12 seconds at 190 km/h. These acceleration times are believed to be the fastest for any V8-powered sedan currently in production.

One of the stated objectives of the Cadillac team is to make the CTS-V the world's fastest production sedan, as a part of the overall goal to make the V-Series Cadillac's ultimate expression of performance and technology.

Rumblings:

Nissan will introduce a convertible version of its sleek Infiniti G37 next spring. The G37 coupe has been a strong seller in the relatively small luxury-coupe market.

Volkswagen's first compact SUV, the 2009 Tiguan, has now arrived at Canadian dealerships with a base price of $27,575 in two-wheel drive form. An all-wheel-drive version is also available.

The all-new 2009 Honda Pilot will arrive at dealerships on June 10 with increased performance, improved fuel economy, enhanced safety features, new technologies and added content – but the same price as the version it replaces, according to Honda Canada. The starting price for two-wheel drive models is $36,820; for 4WD versions it is $39,820.

Jaguar has adjusted Canadian pricing on most models effective May 1. Prices for the brand's flagship sedan line now range from $80,500 for the XJ8 to $110,000 for the Super V8. Those for the sporty XK line go from $92,300 for the XK Coupe to $11,000 for the XKR convertible.

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