The gang in Maranello is continuing to dribble out more imagery of the new Ferrari California roadster, now with the car now making its first appearance with its hard top up. This blue GT can be seen in the gallery below with the top up, down and halfway in between. Thankfully, in spite of the 2+ designation (whatever that means) the car still maintains two-seater proportions, so it doesn’t have a ridiculously long rear deck. There has been plenty of discussion in the comments about the virtues of the California’s design details, but the overall proportions are definitely classic GT the folding hard top manages not to screw that up.

Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo recently had his first crack at driving the new car at the company’s Fiorano test track and unsurprisingly came away feeling quite effusive about the newcomer. In the bosses words, “The California is, like all of our models, the epitome of cutting-edge innovation.” The new hard top can apparently change state in a mere 14 seconds. Hopefully it will also prove to be more reliable than some other such examples. It’s going to be a long summer of teasing from Ferrari before the California makes its debut at the Paris Motor Show in October.

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Like other modern Ferraris, this one is fabricated from aluminum to keep mass under control. The 460 hp 4.3L V8 is the first from Maranello to use direct injection while following the racing tradition of using a flat-plane crankshaft. This car of firsts also debuts the production application of a dual clutch gearbox from Ferrari. The 7-speed unit is mounted in a rear transaxle configuration and should provide smoother shifting and even better performance than the existing hydraulically-actuated units that Ferrari currently uses. Acceleration to 60 mph should come in under 4.0 second. Can fantasy become reality with these colors?

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Like other modern Ferraris, this one is fabricated from aluminum to keep mass under control. The 460 hp 4.3L V8 is the first from Maranello to use direct injection while following the racing tradition of using a flat-plane crankshaft. This car of firsts also debuts the production application of a dual clutch gearbox from Ferrari. The 7-speed unit is mounted in a rear transaxle configuration and should provide smoother shifting and even better performance than the existing hydraulically-actuated units that Ferrari currently uses. Acceleration to 60 mph should come in under 4.0 seconds.

The California is also Ferrari’s first retractable hardtop convertible. From the shape of the hood scoop and headlights to the sweep of the rear fenders and vents behind the front wheels this car obviously draws on the heritage of the original 1960s 250 GT California. At the same time, it’s blended with modern Ferrari design elements drawn from the current F430 and 599.

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