THE ‘AFFORDABLE’ SUPERCAR
The Portofino may be the most important vehicle in Ferrari’s lineup. Not because it’s particularly powerful — at 600 horsepower it is actually the least powerful car Ferrari sells. Nor is it because it is beautiful: It is more comely than the car it replaces but not nearly as striking as a 488 GTB or 812 Superfast. And it is not because it is monstrously expensive — at just over 200 large, it is the least expensive Ferrari. But the Portofino will almost assuredly be the brand volume seller in North America.
Here is what makes the Portofino so important:
The Portofino replaces the California T, which means it’s a 2 + 2 hardtop roadster cum gran turismo. At C$243,009, it is Maranello’s “affordable” supercar.
Some will deride the Portofino, as they did the California before it, as a “girlie” car. Which would be true if all the women you hang out with can handle a quick-steering, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive supercar that can corner at 1g, accelerate to 100 kilometres in less than 3.5 seconds and top out on the ohmy-God side of 320 km/h. Try “accessible” instead. The Portofino’s F154BD twin turbo V8 is a beast, and definitely more sonorous than the California T’s comparatively dull tenor. The Portofino may not quite be a full operetta but, thanks to new headers, a bigger-diameter exhaust system, and some intake plenum changes, it is at least some pretty decent rock and roll.
This is one seriously fast automobile, and just because it doesn’t have its engine behind your right ear or its suspension doesn’t pound your fillings into dust, doesn’t make it any less exciting. Indeed, those deriding Ferrari’s latest roadster might do well to remember that the Portofino’s 600 horsepower is equal to even the most prodigious 458s — yes, I miss them too.
Go ahead: Call it girlie again. There is something absolutely magical about a Ferrari engine bay. In the olden days it was all individual Webers and crinklypainted valve covers. With the Portofino, it’s dramatically long intake tubes feeding two bright-red intake plenums, each embossed with a polished version of the Ferrari nameplate. Seductive, captivating and, dare I say it, even empowering.
The electronically controlled rear differential combines with Ferrari’s traction-control system to keep the big Portofino planted, even when applying all its 560 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels only. Locking the two rear tires together gives maximum traction in a straight line; decoupling them gives the agility one expects from any Ferrari.
That said, the traction-control system was one of my two complaints with Portofino. Like all recent Ferraris, the electronic chassis computers are controlled by the steering wheel-mounted “manettino.” Unlike other Ferraris, there is no Race setting, just Comfort and Sport. Both cut out the happiness (that would be gratuitous, torque-induced oversteer) far too early.
As for my other complaint, it is one that, unfortunately, is endemic to any convertible these days: The A-pillars are huge and can limit visibility to the left of the driver.
Despite all this talk, the Portofino is remarkably civilized. Magnetorheological shock absorbers — the ultimate in adjustability — mean the ride can be as forgiving as it is precise. Neither steering nor brakes are particularly touchy, despite the former being of the supposedly heinous electrically-boosted variety and the latter being the powerful carbon-ceramic types common to all the best supercars these days.
And to be perfectly honest, Ferrari interiors are almost sophisticated these days. There’s easily deciphered switchgear, a huge 10.25-inch infotainment screen and a navigation system that actually, well, navigates. No matter what convention dictates, Ferrari’s incorporation of the turn signal toggles on each arm of the steering wheel is pure genius. The seats are 18-way adjustable and plenty comfortable.
All that said, what sort of legless creature is supposed to fit in the rear seats, I don’t know. But unless your shin bone is directly connected to you hip bone, even gymnastic pliability or balletic contortion will not make you comfortable in the rear.
The Portofino looks like what the California should have been all along. Indeed, that’s the entire impression of the Portofino, as if the California was a first draft always destined for a Portofinolike editing. It sounds great, goes way fast and now truly looks the part. And at $243,009, it is the accessible Ferrari.