The gorgeous two-door convertible broke cover this morning, more than a week ahead of time, with the impact of a tsunami.

It has been talked about for more than a year but is now a definite reality and takes the famed Italian supercar maker in a whole new direction.

The California - a name used in the past for a drop-top Ferrari in the 1950s - is a two-plus convertible that will sit alongside the 430 coupe in the company’s range.

Only the basic details have been revealed ahead of its first public appearance, at the Paris motor show in September.

So there is a 4.3-litre V8, seven-speed gearbox, and a traditional mechanical package with the engine in the front and drive to the rear wheels.

The biggest breakthrough on the Pininfarina-designed California is the car’s folding hardtop roof - a first for Ferrari.

A waiting list for the car has been forming in Australia since last year, when first details of an all-new Ferrari were revealed, and there are already more than a dozen paid-up deposits from fans who want to be the first with the latest from the prancing horse.

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