Ferrari California

Ferrari has already started production of its revised California, but the car won't be making its public debut until the Geneva Show in early March.

New exhaust manifolds and a remapped engine control unit have raised the power output to 490bhp, while a change in the construction method has allowed Ferrari to reduce the car's weight by 30kg "without impinging in any way on its structural rigidity and performance".

One result of all this is that the 0-62mph time has fallen to 3.8 seconds. Admittedly that's only 0.1 seconds quicker than before, but 0-62mph isn't a particularly helpful measure at this level (the business of getting a car moving at all having become a significant factor) and we'd expect the new California to feel generally quicker than its predecessor.

Compared with other Ferrari models, the California is more of a grand tourer an out-and-out sports car, but owners who want a sense of the latter can specify the optional Handling Speciale package consisting of stiffer springs, faster-reacting dampers (in the sense that the magnetic material inside the shock absorbers responds more quickly to inputs, making the damping stiffen up in less time) and a 10% higher steering ratio.