The Herald - The Herald Magazine
First drive: Ferrari Portofino
ITALY’S Portofino is a fishing village on the Riviera, with quaint, pastel-colored houses and a cobbled piazza overlooking the harbour – usually a lazy berthing place for sleepy sailors on slumbering super-yachts.
Ferrari’s Portofino is from any angle just as attractive . . . but it certainly isn’t sleepy or prone to slumber.
In fact, it is only ever happy on the move . . . and, mama mia, can it move!
If I were to choose launch control, the Portofino would take me to 62mph in 3.5 seconds and, road laws and personal sanity willing, be capable of going on until the needle touched 199mph.
All this speed is thanks to the power of its V8 GT engine – a revised version of the California T’s 3.9-litre, twin-turbo, 90-degree V8 – which offers 591bhp.
The power plant also has a single-piece turbo manifold with twin-scroll compact turbines – all the better to harness the energy of gas pulsation, while equal-length runners optimise pressure waves into the turbine and enhance the overall sound quality.
On the meandering roads from St Andrews to Pitlochry, there’s enough east coast sunshine to drop the folding hard-top but not enough traffic to hinder high-paced progress.
The roof itself is a work of engineering artwork, opening up in a ballet of sliding metal and glass manoeuvres in 14 seconds at speeds of up to 25mph.
Roof down, silly sun shades on and we’re off . . . and at the reins, this prancing horse immediately feels super-light and frisky. However the accuracy of the steering remains pinpoint sharp.
It’s possible to shimmy through tight bends without a flick of the tail and with imperceptible roll, while on the straights in sport mode the planted acceleration and roar from the exhausts are a joy for the senses.
The car retains the seven-speed dual clutch transmission from its predecessor, the California, but benefits from new software that allows for even faster gear shifts.
It also features magentorheological dampers, again with improved software, to maintain a stable ride even with a stiffer suspension system.
There is a high level of refinement too: even in sport mode there’s an option to soften things up, making even the shoogling, shuddering challenges of Scotland’s pockmarked stretches of road a lot less jangling.
It all adds up to derring driving capabilities matched by serious stability aids.
Much of the overall fun factor in the Portofino comes from the fact it’s significantly lighter than the California – at 1664kg, it’s worked off around 80kg.
A lot of weight saving is thanks to newly designed components made possible by the use of innovative production techniques. The A Post, for example, was once made up of 21 different components: now that number is just two. The interior of the Portofino turns out to be surprisingly roomy and comfortable, too, if of course unsurprisingly Ferrari-opulent.
There are leather-bound 18-way adjustable electric seats in the front and two little pod-like buckets in the back for really tiny tots, extra luggage or a pair of harnessed Spinone puppies.
Let’s be honest: anyone driving a Ferrari has no need for entertainment other than the sheer pleasure derived from the drive itself.
However, should you so desire, indulge yourself in the new infotainment system, which incorporates a 10.25-inch full HD multi-touch screen with split-view, 3D maps and Apple Carplay. For the passenger there’s also an 8.8-inch HD and touch-sensitive display as an option.
That the Portofino comes with a fouryear warranty and seven-year servicing included is a sign of how astonishingly plausible it is these days for a well-to-do car buff to own of Italy’s finest models.
It also reflects the fact the Portofino may well be one of the most fun prancing ponies in Ferrari’s stable but for beginners it’s also one of the most biddable.