The Ferrari California might be billed as a Gran Tourer but the recently launched Handling Speciale option pack will remove some of that softness in favour of sharper dynamics and transform it into perhaps one of Ferrari’s most versatile models.
Priced at around R100 000 the California HS package installs stiffer springs, a louder exhaust system and a handful of subtle visual upgrades. Front springs are 16% stiffer and the rear springs offer 19% less travel while revised dampers improve traction, squatting down purposefully when accelerating out of corners. Strangely the HS doesn’t come with different profile rubber.
Even with faster shift times over the standard model, the Ferrari California HS isn’t purely a mechanical upgrade; a colour coded grille and a diffuser dubbed Grigio Ferro Met sweeps around matte black tailpipes. A plaque in the cabin reads HS.
The California HS will be revealed at the Geneva Motor Show later this year.
