The California has never been the subject of much love from either the Tifosi, or the executives running the Maranello operation. Perpetually slandered as not-a-real-Ferrari, the Cali has soldiered on to become the best-selling car in company history and doing its best bit to attract new clients, especially women.
Designed in-house at Centro Stile, the Portofino replaces the last Ferrari penned with help from Pininfarina, as such it falls in line with the rest of its siblings, looking much more purposeful and aggressive, almost like a mini F12 with the hard-top roof up. The body features typically Ferrari aerodynamics, with hidden air intakes on the outside edges of the Portofino’s horizontal LED headlights channelling air through the front wheel wells and out along the car’s flanks in order to reduce drag. Out back, the taillights were moved further apart to sharpen the rear end.
Underpinning the Portofino is brand new aluminium chassis which Ferrari says also birthed a new manufacturing process that reduces the complexity of production, cuts weight and gives the chassis more torsional rigidity. Suspending the platform is Ferrari’s SCM-E magnetorheological damping system which has been improved with dual-coil technology which stiffens the suspension but also improves comfort.
New pistons and con rods in the twin-turbo’d 3.9-litre V8 plus a new intake and revised software help hike output over the California T by 39 hp. The car also delivers 560lb ft of torque and thanks to Ferrari’s Variable Boost Management the engine behaves linearly and much more like a naturally aspirated unit. There’s also a new one-piece-cast exhaustheader which reduces losses and will certainly sound better.
Ferrari claims it’ll sprint to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds before maxing out at 198 mph.
Helping transfer the power into thrust is Ferrari’s third generation electronic rear differential (E-Diff3) which has been integrated with its F1-Trac traction control for the first time on the entry level model. The pairing promises mega mechanical grip and control of the car on the limit. The Portofino is also Ferrari’s first GT to feature Electric Power Steering, which reduces the steering ratio by seven per cent.
Inside, the infotainment system now runs on a 10.2” touchscreen display, the air-conditioning system was improved for better top down cooling, plus a new steering wheel and 18-way electrically adjustable seats with a new backrest design that improves rear seat leg room. But Ferrari is proudest of the new wind deflector which cuts air flow inside the cabin by 30% with the top down while also cutting wind noise.
Look for the Ferrari Portofino to make its world debut at the Frankfurt International Motor Show next month.
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