The Ferrari California offered a number of firsts upon its debut in 2008. A retractable hardtop. It's the first Ferrari to sport a retractable hardtop, to rock a dual-clutch 7-speed transmission, and the first to wield a front-engine V8. It's also got something called backseats, which seems like a cute concept for a Ferrari -- a "2+" is the technical term. And as a result of this transmission it presents at least one last: The last Ferrari to offer a manual gearbox. Anyway who wants to deal with complaints from the backseat?

The California is a "2+," a two-door with what we'll all agree to call two ass-holders in what we'll all agree to call the "backseat." Which puts it in the class of "grand tourer," a fine distinction for a car that really does look like it just wants to get on the road and stay there. Oh, and you're of course invited to come along.

Its link to the past is right there in the name -- the California is so named for the 250 GTs that awed a 20th-century world in the late '50s. You'll remember the most famous dignitary of the 250 series as the car in the 1986 John Hughes classic "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." That was a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT Spyder California, one of few than a hundred cars (as noted by Cameron). (The car in the movie was a replica, not an actual 250, because if it had been, Ferrari enthusiasts would have burned down Hollywood had Hughes actually destroyed one of the rare beauties.)

So the new series, which could just as easily have been called the "Utah" or the "Connecticut," adopts the name of that 50-year-old classic and lays in all the new gadgetry of this, the modern era. But anyway yes the new California gets its name from those cars of yore, and while it's sure a fine product from those Italian fellows, it seems to have gotten a lot of gossip about being a "nice" car.

But in the canon of Ferrari's aggressively powerful cars, the California has already gotten a bit of a rep for being nice. It's lovely, but not shockingly so. So while it's a bit peculiar for a Ferrari, it's still a breathtaking machine when compared to gosh, anything with a backseat. Just make sure you call shotgun at least once. And while the front end brings to mind, say, a dignified Aston-Martin, the rear gets a lot of grief for being a bit too big.

But Ferrari was serious when it decided to build a car that could perform but could also fit a small child (say, the child of your mistress) in the back seat. A little something for everyone, it seems. Everyone who has $230,000 and a wish to take your best normal-sized friend and your best small friends for an exhilarating trip.