Last year's Geneva show saw Ferrari reveal the
LaFerrari
; it was always going to be fairly hard to match that in 2014. It is therefore ramping up the PR effort well in advance to garner plenty of interest for the latest Ferrari.
Four years in and its refresh time
'149M Project' sounds a lot more cryptic than it actually is; the
California
has 'F149' as its product code and 'M' typically denotes 'modificato' or modified (see
550 Maranello
to 575M Maranello). So a revised California would be the safe bet.
The rumours so far are all about the California's engine. It seems likely that either the 3.0-litre V6 or 3.8-litre V8 Ferrari builds for Maserati will feature in the California. In their most potent versions, the V6 makes 410hp and the V8 530hp. With the current car naturally aspirated car at 490hp, the turbocharged V8 would surely be the engine of choice. A California mule was spied testing last year giving us some hint of what it will sound like. A few F12-inspired styling tweaks seem almost certain too.
Handling Speciale a welcome option in 2012
Since its introduction in 2010, the most significant tweak to the
California
has been the 30kg weight reduction and 30hp power boost in 2012. At the same time a
Handling Speciale
package was added to the extras list, a £4,320 option comprising faster magnetic dampers, stiffer springs and a quicker steering rack.
As you've probably gathered already, we'll see the full 149M Project on February 12 prior to its Geneva show reveal. Following its debut, the 149M should reach UK customers in the summer.