Marchionne: California isn't a proper Ferrari

Ferrari boss, Sergio Marchionne, has used a press conference at the Geneva motor show to openly criticise one of his own car-maker's best-selling vehicles.

The charismatic car chief, who also heads up the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) empire, used his speech to announce that instead of increasing volumes each car it makes, Ferrari will expand the number of models it produces to grow global sales.

As well as the raft of new models, Marchionne said Ferrari would completely rethink its California T.

"There's unexplored space on the premium side that will allow us to attract even more customers than we're currently attracting", said Marchionne.

He added the iconic Italian marque has already embarked on a period of "thorough evaluation" of all the products it makes.

"The car I've had the most difficulty is the California. I bought two of them -- I bought the first one and I liked the car very much but it's the one car that, from an identity standpoint, has the hardest time of seeing itself as a full-blown Ferrari," Marchionne stated.

Ferrari's boss said there was space for a California-style vehicle but that the Italian car maker "had to be honest" that the way in which Ferrari has interpreted the car "may not be right".

Once again ruling out any chance of a return of the manual transmission, Marchionne said Ferrari would not end its power race with the 588kW 812 Superfast it revealed at the Swiss show and that the firm's new hybrid platform and powertrain due in 2019 would deliver "more power and be more fun to drive".

Courting controversy, Marchionne shrugged off impending European-enforced concerns over reducing emissions.

"We're not trying to meet CO2 targets -- we're really trying to improve the performance of the car. The real objective is to combine the petrol engine and the electric motor to produce the highest possible performance possible," the FCA CEO remarked.

Confirming he will continue to head up Ferrari after he retires from FCA next year, the Ferrari chief admitted there was a lot of work ahead of him.

When asked about whether or not Ferrari waiting lists were too long, Marchionne agreed, they were, before taking a cheeky dig at his Italian supercar neighbours:

"If a waiting list is too long people get turned off and go somewhere else. And that's the biggest advantage of Lamborghini.

"A lot of people buy a Lamborghini because they can't get their hands on a Ferrari," the FCA boss taunted.

Related reading: Ferrari California T hits Aussie outback