The new Ferrari California T may look pretty much the same as the car it replaced, and it may also have the same basic features, but it comes with a new engine. To find out if that makes a real difference and finally turns the Cali into a desirable Ferrari, Chris Harris hits the mountains in it.

Yes, it’s the short version of the video here. But to be honest there aren’t that many new things about the Ferrari California T for it to require a half-hour tour. All you need really is for Chris to confirm the new engine is good.

Those of you who may need a bit more technical details on Ferrari California T’s new turbocharged V8 engine, the main features of this motor include:

• twin-scroll turbochargers that ensure more rapid spool up, with a design that optimizes the exhaust gas pulsation from the cylinders into the turbine, allowing equally-spaced pressure peaks for each turbine scroll, thus reducing turbo-lag;
• compact turbines which thus have a lower moment of inertia to minimise response times;
• the classic Ferrari flat-plane crankshaft which, even with the turbochargers, provides even firing between the two cylinder banks as well as lower rotating mass and inertia.
• “high-tumble” intake manifolds to maximise combustion efficiency;
• ion-sensing system with adaptive ignition and multi-spark functionality which optimise combustion both under high and partial loads across the engine’s rev range;
• lubrication system with a variable-displacement oil pump that supplies oil at either high pressure or low pressure, reducing the hydraulic power requirements by up to 30 per cent compared to a conventional pump;
• cylinder heads with roller finger followers to reduce the power absorbed by the valvetrain by 10 per cent at low revs;
• exhaust headers with equal-length pipes to optimise pulsations and equalise the exhaust sound.