The two IHI turbochargers hidden under the Ferrari California T’s long hood do much more than just provide the car with an extra 70 prancing horsepower and we’re not referring to the 49 percent increase in torque here - they mark Ferrari’s return to the turbocharging religion.
Unlike German automakers, Ferrari doesn’t believe placing the turbines between the cylinder banks of a vee engine is the way. Audi, Mercedes and BMW claim this reduced lag, but the Italians placed their turbos on the sides of the powerplant in order to lower the center of gravity, a key asset for a sportscar.

Fret not, the Prancing Horse promises zero turbo lag for the California T’s 3.9-liter V8 and it’s all thanks to a sorcery called Variable Boost Management.

The Italians also promise ““the most exhilarating soundtrack any turbo has ever yielded”, with the instruments used to play this tune being a three-piece cast exhaust manifold and turbo housing.

The rest of the car has obviously been taught how to cope with the extra zing, from the steering to the F1-Trac traction control. Somewhere along the way, the coupe-cabriolet has lost 5kg (11 lbs). More importantly, the weight distribution remains unchanged at 47:53 (front:rear).