The Ferrari California was unveiled in Sydney yesterday at the Australian International Motor Show, just days after its world debut in Europe at the Paris International Motor Show.

The Ferrari California was unveiled in Sydney yesterday at the Australian International Motor Show, just days after its world debut in Europe at the Paris International Motor Show.

“It is a unique honour for Australia to be chosen as only the second place in the world where the new California is on display,” says Kevin Wall, Ferrari General Manager at EAI, the Australian and New Zealand Ferrari importer. The California name is clear indication of the importance of this new model to Ferrari, as it is one of the marque’s most famous model names of all time, and remains, as recent auction of the original cars have shown, the most sought-after classic Ferrari of all time. The new model takes Ferrari into a new area of the super car market provides a superlative granturismo to compliment the full-blooded supercar that is the Ferrari F430.”

The Ferrari California is the first ever front-engined V8 Ferrari. The engine, mounted behind the front axle, is all-new and features direct injection technology for the first time, helping to increase power and reduce emissions. Also new for Ferrari is the dual clutch gearbox that effectively reduces gear change times to zero, the folding metal roof, and the multilink suspension that blends traditional Ferrari handling and adhesion to the road with a new level of ride quality and comfort.

Deliveries of the Ferrari California will start in mid-2009 at an anticipated price tag of around $450,000, although the car is reported to be sold out until 2011. Ferrari Australia general manager Kevin Wall says that the car is attracting a significant proportion of first-time Ferrari buyers, and that half of the orders placed so far are from female customers.

The California, displayed in Azzurro California blue with a pale hide interior, takes pride of place on the Ferrari stand until October 19, alongside examples of Ferrari’s other current production models, including a 612 Scaglietti, F430 Spider, and 599 GTB Fiorano.