California or California T

You will find fans of both models. I've driven both. 1st a rental Cali-T in Sicily. I then rented a regular Cali in California. I purchased a 2011 Cali - primarily as this model/year was in my budget. I'm very happy with my 2011 though the Cali-T is certainly quicker. At almost 62 - the regular Cali is plenty quick for me - looks great & gets compliments all-the-time. Good luck with your decision.

 

I will buy your F430 ... send me a note. Been looking for a spider since I sold my Berlinetta. But I would still keep my California.

I have owned both a 2013 California 30 and 2015 California T (which I still own). Both are excellent cars. The California 30 sounded better than the California T does, but I added the HS mufflers to the California T and have been happy with it. It's just a deeper exhaust note and less apt to "pop" on the downshifts. Both cars are beautiful. There are some nice upgrades to the California T -- interior, and the lines of the nose and rear are definitely more along the lines of the F12 than earlier car. The power is the biggest difference ... good bump in horsepower but great increase in torque, so the car feels substantially quicker. Not that the Cali 30 was slow, but it would be hard to go back to it after living with the T.

Supposedly, the transmission in the T is a bit more reliable than the original California. I have had no issues with either car but you don't seem to hear about gearbox failures with the later cars. I put 15k miles on a California 30 and aside from a go-round with a top sensor failure, it was very reliable. The California T, knock wood, has been flawless for 5 years and now has 30k miles on it.

Compared to the F430 (mine was also a manual), the California is a lot more comfortable to drive, attracts less attention (my F430 was red, the Cali 30 was grigio titanio and the Cali T is nero daytona). I found both Californias to be more usable cars than the F430, which was more of a Point A to Point A car, as they say. Less worries about parking, less people trying to race you or film you at 80 mph with one hand while driving, etc.

Best of luck in your search!

 

You can't go wrong with either. I would recommend for the NA, try to get the so-called Cali 30 (~2013 and later) as it has 30 more HP and 30 less KG, if I recall correctly. If you find a 30 HS (Handling Speciale), that'd be a great catch. The T also came with an HS upgrade IIRC. We've had our '11 NA for 8 years this spring, and our only regret is not buying one sooner. Good luck w/ your hunt for "the one"...T

 

Seats and exterior styling differences are worth considering.

 

I drove a bunch of both and ended up with the T. The NA sounds better, but requires more effort to get to the power band, the T engine is a damn masterpiece. The HS mufflers supposedly are a nice improvement over the stock T. I'm trying to find one to listen to before I do the upgrade.

Stylingwise, I prefer the T, especially the back, but that is a matter of personal preference.
The gearbox is supposedly much more reliable in the T (you don't hear of many DCT failures in T models), T engine is prone to oil leaks that are expensive to repair, make sure you check for those beforehand to avoid a $15k surprise.

I think currently T's are a better value, as you can find a clean well looked after medium mileage (15-20k) cars in the 100-125k range.

 

I've had both, currently with a T - both are fun, non-T sounds better with riffle bangs from exhaust, as others mention has risk for DCT failure, no native Apple Carplay if that is important.

l personally like the updated styling and interior of the T, updated steering wheel controls (turn signals for example), external magnetic tender charging port, on going updates to Carplay from Apple and the updated infotainment system, and being a Ferrari, I want the maximum added HP/torque you can get out of the two generations. I also prefer the horizontal exhaust vs. the stacked vertical ones on the non-T.

 

As one member mentioned, the filming while driving at speeds and them getting close at high speeds is annoying with the more exotic variants like 360/430. It’s something I still can’t get used to dealing with.

I love the California 30. If you get one well optioned with upgraded interior options as in the diamond stitched patterned seats, the Cali T interior isn’t mind blowing better at that point. If you haven’t driven both with the top down then you must. The Cali 30 with the top down and an aftermarket exhaust is quite an experience. I love the bulky look of the Cali 30, it just looks aggressive with a touch of class.

 

Tony, what did you decide? Which did you get?

 

You’ll notice a definite preference for the exhaust note on the -30