Daily Mail

SCHOOL RUN SUPER CAR

- BY RAY MASSEY MOTORING EDITOR AA Campaignin­g Journalist of the Year

FerrArI has unleashed its new 200 mph daily supercar. It hopes customers will enjoy it in their everyday lives, then rev up the excitement with its blistering performanc­e on high days and holidays.

The new Portofino, named after the glamorous upmarket Italian riviera resort, is a car for all seasons and, in effect, two cars in one: a beautifull­y streamline­d sporting Berlinetta coupe and a rakishly gorgeous drop-top Spider.

Beneath its beautifull­y sculpted skin, it also has two distinctiv­e personalit­ies — a fun and easy-going grand tourer with impeccable manners for the school run, and a let-rip supercar at home on the tightest of twisting hairpin bends.

I was one of the first to drive the Portofino on its global launch in Puglia, southern Italy, ahead of first UK deliveries in July.

It aims to be Ferrari’s biggest seller, accounting for a third of total sales with more than 600 pre- ordered so far. It replaces the outgoing California T (2014 to 2017), which succeeded the original California (from 2008).

That said the £166,180 starting price is anything but everyday, and customers typically spend 15 per cent more on extras, pushing the total closer to £200,000. Powered by an uprated 3.9-litre, twin-turbo, V8 engine that produces 600bhp and is linked to a seven-speed F1 dualclutch, it heads from rest to 62 mph in just 3.2 seconds and on to 124 mph in 10.8 seconds.

Driver and passenger enjoy two comfortabl­e high-backed sports seats and there’s space at a squeeze in the back for two more passengers or youngsters. A smart cockpit boasts lashings of carbon fibre and leather, a digital driver display and touch-screen.

It averages 26.4 mpg, with CO2 emissions of 245g/km, and has a range of 458 miles. The boot will take three cabin bags with the metal roof up, or two with it down. In the UK, the Portofino comes with a four-year warranty and seven-year servicing deal.

Simply bellissimo!

 ??  ?? Red devil: Ray gets his hands on one of Ferrari’s new Portofino drop-tops
Red devil: Ray gets his hands on one of Ferrari’s new Portofino drop-tops
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