CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'; A Ferrari Dino debut in all but name is rumored for Detroit show.(News)

Byline: MICHAEL TAYLOR

Italian sports-car maker Ferrari is prepping an all-new model, reportedly called the California, for a Detroit auto show debut in January.

Originally referred to as the Dino, the car is said to be a V8-powered, front-engined 2+2 that would fit slightly below the F430 on Ferrari's price list.

Whispered rumors of a Dino, a relatively economically priced Ferrari, have circulated since Ferrari's legal separation from Maserati in 2005. Now Ferrari says the Dino will not be built-but no one is denying that a car by another name and closely fitting the Dino's description except for price is on the drawing board.

"There is no new Dino,'' a Ferrari spokesman insisted. "Our goal is exclusivity, and it's clear that a Dino would not take us in this direction.''

Nevertheless, other sources at Maranello insist that Ferrari has fully developed plans for the car, largely undertaken by Maserati as a replacement for the aging Coupe, Spyder and GranSport range. The project was canceled by Ferrari's board in early 2005, but the plans were taken from Modena to Maranello as part of the Ferrari-Maserati divorce settlement within the Fiat Group.

The California concept coming to Detroit likely will feature a 4.3-liter, direct-fuel-injection version of the engine in the F430. Sources suggest output of 450 hp, down from 483 hp in the current F430 and well below the 500-hp-plus that the next F430 is expected to produce.