Three years ago, Ferrari replaced the California T with the Portofino, a 2+2 open-top GT with a front mid-engine and rear-wheel drive layout, and now it seems natural that this model will receive a mid-life cycle refresh.
The facelifted iteration should bring the usual revised front and rear ends, but the prototype spotted testing recently had neither, save for what seems to be a new diffuser, despite the vinyl stickers covering the whole exterior. So, what are we looking at?
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One possibility could be the rumored more powerful version of the Portofino, understood to add 20 HP to the 592 HP 3.9-liter twin-turbocharged V8, which would make it as powerful as the Roma. An eight-speed dual-clutch transmission also appears to be on the cards, with an extra gear over the current Portofino, and besides being a tad faster, it will allegedly be more efficient too, returning 16/23/19 mpg (14.7/10.2/12.4 l/100 km) in city/highway/combined.
The second, and most likely, possibility is that this an early test mule for the updated Portofino that has yet to receive the new bumpers and lighting units, alongside other possible upgrades.
In any case, we should find out in a few months what the Prancing Horse has in store for the Portofino. In the meantime, the current model has 592 HP (600 PS / 441 kW) at 7,500 rpm and 561 lb-ft (760 Nm) of torque from 3,000 to 5,250 rpm. It sprints to 62 mph (100 km/h) in just 3.5 seconds, to 124 mph (200 km/h) in 10.8 seconds and hits a top speed in excess of 199 mph (320 km/h).