History of the 2010 Ferrari California

We hear the California is an artifact of Maserati's M139 Spyder project, which was developed with Pininfarina about six years ago, when Ferrari owned Maserati. The retractable-hardtop-convertible design was rejected by Ferrari in 2005, but was evidently not forgotten, as it's said to be the starting point for the 2010 Ferrari California. As a result, Maserati, which now answers to different masters, is reportedly furious over the new baby Ferrari, proving once again that even the nicest families have squabbles.

Meantime, reports indicate the California may be the most "outsourced" Ferrari in history. Though Maranello is expanding facilities to prepare for a big planned increase in total production, the California is expected be built largely by Pininfarina in Turin, assisted by contract manufacturer Magna-Steyr in Austria. In the past, Pininfarina has supplied only full- or part-finished Ferrari bodies. However, it's lately become a contract manufacturer too, producing low-volume models for major European automakers including Ford. Indeed, Ford Europe offers a nifty Focus coupe-convertible that's mostly built by Pininfarina and wears the coachbuilder's badge. So in a very real sense, the California reflects growing pains at Ferrari, which is reaching sales levels that would have been unimaginable 15 years ago.