Ferrari California T tops brand sales

The all-new California T has already rocketed to the top of the sales charts, trumping the emotive 458 Italia and family-focussed FF V12, before a single appearance down under. The California T has even missed the boat for the Ferrari Racing Days this weekend, the biggest event in the history of the Italian brand in Australia, without affecting the order bank.

“It will become our largest selling model. And we expect that 70 per cent of owners will be new to the Ferrari brand,” the head of Ferrari in Australia and the Pacific, Herbert Appleroth, tells Carsguide. “The waiting list for the new California is already over 12 months. And when the car is launched, in June, we expect it will be more like 24 months.”

Appleroth says the absence of the California from the Racing Days at Sydney Motorsport Park is not a concern, since there are so many other new models at the event including the 458 Speciale and a display-only LaFerrari. “The focus is on those cars. The California is more lifestyle based and we will launch it in due course,” he says.

The California T is the first turbocharged Ferrari since the F40 supercar from the 1980s, and comes with the promise of 412 kiloWatts and 755 Newton-metres - good for a 0-100km/ sprint in 3.6 seconds and a top speed of 316km/h - for a pricetag very close to the $460,000 of the outgoing model.

“People who own a California are already coming back for another one. Normally you expect them to go up to a 458, but there is a lot of pre-purchase,” Appleroth says. He is happy that the California has brought new buyers to the brand, although some will have to wait for a car.

“It isn’t just women, there are people who couldn’t afford a Ferrari in the past. It’s now an everyday drive, but a special everyday drive.

“Demand has gone crazy. Supply will be restricted for the first two years.

“The first car will be launched in June in Australia but the first deliveries won’t be until the end of the year. We’ve already got 12 months of orders, easily. And we won’t announce the price for a couple of months.”