It is a Ferrari, but not as we know it. It even comes with an American name, giving more than a hint, perhaps, of where the Italian carmaker, nay supercarmarker, sees its future. It is the California, Ferrari's first (and soon to be released) retractable hard-top convertible, and it could be the key to a more than 33 per cent increase in sales of the marque over the next 18 months or so.

It is not possible to order or put down a deposit for a California - potential customers register expressions of interest and are put on a waiting list - but it will be on sale before the end of the year, after being unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in October.

In a first for Ferrari, the 4.3 litre V8 engine is mounted mid-front, rather than at the rear, making it the first Ferrari to have a boot. It is also the first with an automatic roof (which tucks away in 14 seconds), but in other aspects it remains very much a Ferrari. Nought to 100km/h (62mph) takes less than four seconds.

The Italian carmaker sold just under 6,500 cars last year in 52 markets, the United States accounting for the lion's share with 1,600 sales. About 1,000 were sold in the Asia-Pacific region and Luca di Montezemolo, president of Ferrari and chairman of Fiat, its parent, expects those sales to catch up with America within five or six years. Morgan Stanley said in a recent report that it expected Ferrari sales to hit 10,000 by 2010. The California will account for as much as 45 per cent of the company's output by that time.

“The California is an extraordinary car,” Mr di Montezemolo enthused. The expected demand for the new model has prompted Ferrari, 85 per cent owned by Fiat, to invest €200 million (£160 million) in a new production line at its factory near Bologna.

Mr di Montezemolo said that the investment was about creating “user-friendly assembly” that increases the quality of the product and makes the experience better for workers. Ferrari says that the new line, on which cars are suspended rather than supported from below, reduces workers' movement by 60 per cent, while increasing their available space by 20 per cent.

The company, which has 2,800 employees in total, makes its own engines, which are fashioned from a single block of aluminium and employ the skills of 12 workers, making it one of the few carmakers to build all the components that go into its vehicles on one site. Most of the 70 engines produced each day are destined for Maseratis, also owned by Fiat.

When Mr di Montezemolo became Ferrari president in 1993, turnover stood at €230 million and the company made a €3.8 million loss. Last year, turnover hit €1.67 billion, producing a profit of €266 million. That figure is set to rise, giving Ferrari a pre-tax profit margin of 19 per cent by 2010, according to Morgan Stanley, compared with 15.9 per cent last year. On that basis, it would be more profitable than Porsche, often thought of as the world's most profitable carmaker.

Ferrari, of course, is renowned not merely for the cars it sells but for the cars it races. It funds its Formula One team through car sales, sponsorship and merchandising - another in the growing number of Ferrari F1 stores is due to open on Regent Street in London in October. Securing the chequered flag may also help to convince potential buyers that it is worth waiting the average two years that it takes between order and delivery of one of the world's most coveted possessions.

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