Ferrari has released a convertible with a folding metal roof and automatic transmission. Is it still a sports car?

I'm pretty sure this isn't how most people imagine a Ferrari test drive to be: trapped in peak-hour traffic.

In the hustle and bustle of Sicily, scooters, trucks and smoky hatchbacks are turning across cars that have right of way. No one seems bothered about keeping to their side of the road, let alone within a lane.

There's a different kind of adrenalin running through my system. Rather than hanging on for dear life while driving on the ragged edge, I'm trying to thread Ferrari's latest model through a maze of old bangers without a scratch.

Top speed of this machine is 310 km/h. But my top speed is no faster than walking pace - and I'm not talking about those funny Olympic walkers. The beggars at the traffic lights are overtaking me. I try not to make eye contact with them, but it's a bit hard to slip by in a $A450,000 sports car. Time to get out of here.

It turns out that this is, in fact, the ideal test for Ferrari's new convertible with a Mercedes-style folding metal roof and whiz-bang transmission.

It is called the California because most will be sold on the west coast of North America (almost 30% of the total allocation). So it's important to know what it's like in the bump and grind of stop-start traffic. Beverly Hills may be another world away but, really, only the scenery and the beggars are different.

Thankfully, winding mountain roads behind the historic coastal city of Trapani await, and it is there the Ferrari California can stretch its legs.

As we spiral up the mountain, the road eventually takes us to Segesta, a place famous for its fifth-century BC Doric temple.

The temple is a bit of a work in progress but still in remarkable condition. Historians believe it was abandoned before it was completed because the tabs that help lift the stones in place are still there, and the builders forgot (or ran out of time) to put a roof on it.

It's fair to say Ferrari has put a fair bit more attention to detail in the roof of its latest car.

The California is the first Ferrari to have a folding metal roof; previous models have either been rag-tops or had no top at all. Typically the company has shunned anything that adds unnecessary weight to its sports cars.

For the first time in Ferrari's history, the speed of the roof opening is as important - if not more important - than the top speed of the car. For the record, the roof opens in 14 seconds which, as you might expect the proud Italian maker to boast, is quicker than the 20-second average opening time for a car with a similar roof design.

The trick lid is a significant shift in focus for Ferrari, but so is the rest of the car.

It has the biggest boot of all the Ferraris in the current line-up (which increases practicality but adds more weight). It is the first Ferrari to have a V8 engine under the bonnet (front-engined Ferraris until now have exclusively been V12s). And it is the first Ferrari to have a double-clutch gearbox (in essence, this means the shifts are so smooth it feels like an automatic).

So there's a bit of controversy about the California because of concern Ferrari is taking a softer approach in order to broaden the appeal of the brand.

Some hardcore enthusiasts believe it's not a Ferrari unless the car scares you at least once every time you drive it. Ferrari's response: why shouldn't more people enjoy its cars?

Although Ferrari did not predict the global economic downturn when it started designing this car five years ago, the California is about making sure Ferrari doesn't become ancient history.

The Italian sports car maker is bracing itself for future economic uncertainty and increasing pressure to reduce the emissions of its vehicles.

Senior Ferrari executives at last month's Paris motor show suggested that Ferraris produce much less pollution overall than Toyota Prius hybrids do because Toyota has sold a million of those and Ferrari only sells about 6000 cars a year.

It was a cute grab for headlines, especially when you consider most Ferraris use about four times as much fuel as a Prius does, but Ferrari is taking environmental concerns more seriously than it is letting on.

The California is the most fuel-efficient Ferrari to date. Its average use, according to European tests, is 13.0 L/100 km, which is less than a Holden Commodore V8.

Although the California's V8 is the same size as that used in the Ferrari F430 mid-engined sports car, it is a completely new engine. It is also Ferrari's first direct-injection engine, which basically means fuel is sprayed into the engine in an even finer mist for better burning efficiency and less waste.

The other key to the California's relatively frugal fuel economy claim is the new seven-speed gearbox. It is slightly heavier than a regular six-speed manual but it is lighter than a conventional automatic.

A six-speed manual will eventually follow, but for now the seven-speed is the only transmission available. Ferrari predicts 92% of California customers will opt for this version but it is going to the trouble of making a regular manual gearbox available so as not to upset the traditionalists.

Once you sample the new gearbox, though, you'd have to wonder why you'd have anything else. It is so good it is quite simply yet another nail in the coffin for conventional manual and old-fashioned automatic gearboxes.

It works in a similar way to the highly regarded double-clutch gearbox pioneered five years ago in the Volkswagen Golf GTI; technology which has since spread to other car makers including most recently Porsche.

I'll spare you the technical briefing but basically two hidden clutches (there's no clutch pedals in cars with such gearboxes because they're activated automatically) ensure that the next gear is always ready to go at the flick of a lever.

Most of the time the shifts are almost imperceptible and occur faster than a regular manual or an automatic. In this case, the fancy gearbox helps propels the California to 100 km/h in less than four seconds - an absolutely astonishing figure in anyone's terms.

This makes it faster than the Ferrari F430 sports car even though the California is about 200 kilograms heavier.

Ferrari says it is able to work this miracle against the laws of physics because of the way the engine delivers its power (it has less peak power but more low-end grunt), as well as improvements to the launch control software.

That's right, launch control. Select "sport" mode on the fancy alloy switch in the steering wheel, press the "launch" button on the centre console and simply floor the accelerator and let the car take care of the rest.

Ferrari says it practised the technique more than 10,000 times when developing this car and, thanks to a tonne of computer power and formula one know-how, was able to determine the exact amount of throttle and clutch inputs as the car leaps off the line.

It's quite amazing. Basically the system restricts engine power slightly at first and gently slips the clutch up to about 3000 rpm, by which time the engine is giving everything it has got and you're off to a good start. The repeatability and consistency is brilliant. I was guilty of trying it once or twice.

When you're on the move you can choose between a fully automatic mode in the gearbox (all you need to do is steer, brake and indicate, although in Italy indicating seems optional, as does actually stopping for stop signs) or select gears manually with the beautifully machined metal levers behind the steering wheel - or do a bit of both.

Such gearboxes often aren't suited to stop-start driving and can occasionally get confused but in the peak-hour test the gearbox only had a minor grumble a couple of times. It wasn't anything to worry about and within the normal working tolerance of such systems.

The gearbox comes into its own during hard acceleration, where it just snaps through the gears. These precise, affirmative gear changes, combined with a race car-style exhaust crackle, certainly make you feel alive.

If there is one criticism it is that at times the V8 sounds a bit nasally, a bit like a four-cylinder with a big exhaust. Part of the reason for this is the internal engine design. It doesn't sound like a V8 as we know it. Rather than a deep voice it has a high pitch.

At high revs and during gear changes the engine and exhaust ooze character, but at idle and under moderate acceleration it lacks a menacing sound.

But nothing can take away from the driving experience. The California's performance may be accessible but it's certainly no slouch.

It's a weird feeling. Because it's a Ferrari, and because it looks the way it does, you expect to be thrown around the cabin and have your heart in your mouth the whole time. But driving this thing is as easy as brushing your teeth.

The steering is light, it's relatively easy to gauge the proportions of the car, all the controls (namely the accelerator and brakes) feel really normal, almost uneventful - although you are reminded you're in a Ferrari as you grip the bulging formula one-style leather steering wheel with a big red start button and suck up the fumes of the perfectly stitched Italian leather.

Another way you can tell you're in a Ferrari: there are no cup holders, no cruise control and (this may be a surprise for some) no driver's vanity mirror. I'm not sure what the target customers will make of these omissions, but I'd like to bet they'll be on a wish list of future options.

The California is quiet at cruising speeds (even though the engine is revving at 2600 rpm at 110 km/h in seventh gear) and slips through the air with the grace of a grand tourer rather than a skittish sports car.

Perhaps of most importance to typical buyers is that the hairdo doesn't get too messed up when the roof is down - providing you fit the fabric wind blocker screens that fold away into the boot when not in use.

The California handles corners and bumps so easily that you don't need to be Michael Schumacher to drive it. Indeed, you can blame the former Ferrari formula one pilot for making the California so easy to drive.

Even though he's retired from racing, he worked with the development team from the very beginning of the project. Hey, wouldn't you come out of semi-retirement if all you had to do was turn up to a test track and drive Ferraris all day?

One of the great ironies of this Ferrari is that it will likely be driven further and more often than the so-called "driver's cars" in the line-up.

Owners of Ferrari F430 sports cars clock up an average of 8000 kilometres a year, and the V12 grand touring coupes tend to do up to 12,000 kilometres, the company's service records show. But the average annual distance of the California is predicted to be more like 15,000-20,000 kilometres.

The company also predicts the California will be the first Ferrari for at least half of its buyers - the highest conquest rate of any model it has produced, other than, I suppose, the very first one.

The company concedes that sales of other models may suffer slightly as longstanding enthusiasts also switch to a Ferrari they can drive every day.

With that level of interest, the California is expected to account for more than a third of all Ferrari sales.

That only leaves one problem: getting one. The California is sold out for more than two years. I now understand why.

Joshua Dowling travelled to Europe as a guest of Ateco Australia.

FAST FACTS

Price: $450,000 (estimated)

On sale: In Australia Mid-2009

Engine: 4.3-litre V8

Power: 338 kW at 7750 rpm

Torque: 485 Nm at 5000 rpm

Fuel use: 13.0 L/100 km

Emissions: 306 g/km

Transmission: Seven-speed automated dual clutch

Weight: 1630 kg

Top speed: 310 km/h

0-100 km/h: Less than 4 seconds

Waiting list: Two years