The California embodies many firsts for Ferrari : it is the first two door "2+2" hard top convertible, with a front-mid mounted direct injection V8 engine, etc.  In the Ferrari hierarchy, the California comes between the very sporty F430 (458 Italia starting in 2010) and the larger GT such as the 599 GTB Fiorano and the 612 Scaglietti.  When launched as a 2010 model car, it was a 4th model offered by the Italian manufacturer.