| Ferrari test drive in Sicily |
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Page 1 of 2 Driving the new Ferrari in Sicily is in the realm of fantasy ... but writer Jason Harper was going too fast to pinch himself  A quintessential Italian landscape: Rolling grapevine-covered hills, sheep tended by crooked-back herders, and ancient stone castles outlined against the bright-blue Sicilian sky. Beautiful, no doubt, but as I’m screaming down the road in a brilliant-red Ferrari at 130 miles per hour, there’s precious little time to look. 
Fifth gear, and the Ferrari California’s 454 horses are absolutely howling. I trigger sixth, and the convertible picks up more speed, the wind ripping at my hair. My apologies for spoiling the peace, but chances like this come along once in a lifetime.There are road trips, and there are road trips. Exploring the dramatic island of Sicily by sports car is a good start, especially knowing that Italians adore any bella macchina. Bring the newest Ferrari out on the road—a car virtually no one has seen in the actual aluminum flesh—and you’re an insta-hero. Cries of “Bravo!” and “Bello!” follow in the California’s hot exhaust like ticker tape. Earlier, I parked on a street and an elderly Sicilian gentleman worthy of a Mario Puzo novel stopped and said, “Ah, with this car go fast as you want; the police will close one eye. Actually, they will close both.” Sicily is the nearly 10,000-square-mile island being kicked by Italy’s toe, and its modest economy has ensured an Old World atmosphere comfortably frozen in amber. The interior is given over to grapes, olives, and villas that have seen no new masonry since WWII. Who wouldn’t leap at the chance to test out Maranello’s latest creation here? After all, deliveries of 400 Californias to the U.S. won’t begin until summer of 2009. No wonder Ferraris are such good investments: The company keeps supply well below demand, which helps account for the $200,000-plus price tag. What that dough gets you is Ferrari’s first-ever hardtop convertible, which the company is targeting to first-time buyers. (The name comes from a 1950s model, the 250 GT California.) With the top up, it looks like a sexy coupe, but hold down a button and 14 seconds later you’ve got a sensuously contoured convertible. |
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