Let’s get the facts out of the way first shall we? The Ferrari California is a two door open topped sports car (well aren’t they all) that’s front mid-engined and featuring a lovely direct injection 4.3 litre V8 with an output of 453BHP. There’s no figure on the price yet, or the fuel consumption. Not a surprise on either really, you don’t want to put people off after all…

It’s always an event when a new supercar comes along, especially when it looks as damn good as the car above. It’s the sort of thing that people will stop and stare at, or if they’re lucky enough, have sex with supermodels in. For the rest of us mere mortals, we simply get to see it on the Internet or at a motorshow, where it will stand sterile, taunting us with all that unused power.

It is rumoured that this Ferrari, the California, is to be fitted with a V8 that is going to be in front of the driver, yet still mid-mounted (behind those all important front wheels). It should mean a change in dynamics, but it’s not as if Ferrari doesn’t know what they’re doing. The name, for instance, harks back to various other Ferraris that have been open-topped, with owners driving along with the wind in their hair.

As with a number of other Ferraris, this is a car that will feature a transaxle setup. This is both good for power and weight distribution, giving the car a more dynamic load setup. Naturally, this means your brand new California should be able to guided like a rocket around your chosen city streets – or track for that matter.

For power, Ferrari have said that the big V8 lump should shove the car up to 60 in less than 4 seconds – so a bit more than your average hot hatch and in fact faster than a significant number of exotics. What will really differentiate it then will be that handling and the lovely wail that you should get from the lump up at the front. If it doesn’t sound special, that will surely shoot it in the front, especially as an open topped car.

Will you want one? Well yes, of course you blood dolt. It’s a Ferrari – and it doesn’t have a roof to boot. Okay, so you can afford a luxury car like this – will you buy one in the face of 911 Turbos, Lamborghini Gallardos and even imported Nissan GT-R’s? Well, that remains to be seen. It has the power and the style. It also though comes with an estimated price tag that’ll push it past the value of a standard F430.

With that in mind, I don’t think it will it will float my boat enough. I’m quite hardcore when it comes to these things, and the roar grunt of the F430 – with those quad exhausts and the screaming engine (along with the tried and tested formula) would still make it my choice. However, let’s keep our eyes open and I’ll give you regular updates on this motor. Who knows, I might just change my mind when I sit in one…

I’ve thought about this question before because I would like to quantify exactly what makes them special. The area of the car market I’m talking about is the really top end - not the things mind that are just expensive cruisers (such as the Rolls Royce range) but stuff with scary, balls-to-the-wall performance to go with it.

Impracticality
One thing I’ve noted during my search for the ‘essence of supercar’ (it could be a well nice aftershave that, though granted it would have a whiff of the high octane stuff about it) is that the car has to be completely impractical. It has to really offer barely any room at all, whether you’re a passenger (real supercars rarely offer room for more than one of these) or a piece of baggage.

This is one of the reasons why you could call cars such as the Subaru Impreza WRX Sti and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution incredibly impressive and fast - but they aren’t supercars. There’s just too much space, a bit too much ‘well I could help you do the shopping run too’ about them. There’s a place for that, but it’s not as a supercar.

Looks to die for
Supercars, invariably, look different from all other cars on the road. I was recently driving to work and there was a Lamborghini Gallardo driving on the opposite carriageway. It caught my eye and made my stomach feel light. The sheer looks of the thing made me gawk.

A car cannot be called a supercar unless it looks a bit special. I’m not just talking about a bit of carbon fibre as the bonnet either - it must have something that screams ‘I will eat you if you do something I don’t like’. This can be a rear diffuser; a bonnet bulge or intakes that make the car look like it has miniature caverns. Whatever it is, it must catch your eye. Cars that are trying the same trick (but aren’t supercars) will frequently paint their machines in traditional supercar livery such as bright reds and yellows.

Power and performance
A supercar should be super in every way - whether it is the looks or the performance. This being the case, such a machine cannot carry the moniker unless it is flying the flag for pointless, over the top performance. If your current car can do a higher top speed then you’re either rich or kidding yourself.

Cars such as the new Nissan GT-R are genuine sports cars - simply because it will do the 0-60 run in 3.6 seconds. Truly breathtaking. A bit scary as well no doubt. That’s another purpose of a supercar. Unless you’re a racing driver, it should have the ability to make you wet yourself. Repeatedly.

Costs
This really is something particular to supercars (well okay, you’ll suffer some of this if you get a performance car of the non-super variety). The cost of an initial purchase can be just about as high as you want to go, given how much you can customise your chosen vehicle. Your dealer can give you an options list longer than your arm and if you’re a real supercar buyer you’ll tick more than a few.

Cars you might like which won’t make your bank manager cry
These days, there are some cars that you can get for a very reasonable price that are either supercars or have genuine heritage. The Honda NSX is one such car. You can pick one of these bad boys up for just up from £20,000 and you’ll have a high revving V6 howler to your name that will put a lot of other cars on the road to shame.

Whilst some complain about TVR, if you haven’t got the Earth to spend then I’d recommend one. Look for a good model though, as reliability is a known issue (tell me which ’supercar’ doesn’t come with this feature though). I found a TVR Chimaera (4.3 litre convertible monster) for only £8,650 - a real bargain that will go like absolute stink.

My favourite supercar
As a car enthusiast, naturally I have a preference for a vehicle - should I happen to win the lottery or get an inheritance I wasn’t expecting. My choice is for the Ferrari F430. This two-door coupe is a fantastic vehicle. You can get it in manual or ‘F1′ style paddle shift and it’ll go from 0-60 in less than four seconds and will naturally cost you the Earth to run. I found one however for only £100,000.

I guess the point of supercars really is just that - to be super, in the same way that Superman is. They are unattainable. The height of mechanical and automotive genius. They turn heads. Perhaps though the only sign of a true supercar is whether a boy will have a picture of it on his wall. In that case, make mine a Lamborghini Diablo. This analogy highlights perfectly what a supercar represents - emotion, excitement and power all rolled into a beautiful package.