The brand new Portofino ticks a hell lot of boxes, if you consider what the Italians wanted to create in the first place.
The role of the entry-level Ferrari was always going to be that of a much friendlier sports car, and the commercial success of the California showed that the Italians’ strategy was spot on.
Based on a brand new platform, the Ferrari Portofino claims that it got better at providing more usability and comfort than its predecessor, but now punches way harder when your right foot hits the throttle pedal.
Under the front bonnet lies a twin-turbo 3.9-liter V8, like its predecessor, the California T, only now makes 592hp (600PS) and 560lb-ft (759Nm) of peak torque, so no one can say the new baby Ferrari lacks performance.
Combined with the stiffer and lighter (by 80kg/176lbs) structure, the new Portofino is now capable of doing the 0-62mph (0-100km/h) sprint in 3.5 seconds and hitting 199mph (320km/h) flat out.
These are some really serious numbers for what is a usable 2+2 GT with a folding metal roof, but then again, this is a new Ferrari we’re talking about. It might not be as dynamically capable as its bigger siblings, but then it never was meant to be.
Auto Express delivers their first driving impressions of the all-new Portofino, so let’s find out what they have to say.