Last night, Ferrari did something we weren’t really expecting so soon, which was to reveal a replacement to their entry 2+2 convertible, the California T, ahead of the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. It’s called the Portofino, and apart from the change back to an Italian location name (a seaside town up north, in this case) instead of an American state, the recipe remains very similar.
Under the new face, which wears many more cues with Ferrari’s most current cars. Echoes of the 812 Superfast and GTC4 Lusso are quite evident at the front while hints of the outgoing California T can be seen at the rear.
The original California, introduced in 2008, was a fine car in its own right but was met with only lukewarm reactions from the market. It’s looks weren’t to everyones tastes and it didn’t seem to capture enough customers looking for an open-top grand tourer away from other makes such as the Aston Martin, Mercedes-AMG, Jaguar, and even Porsche.
On its dynamic and engineering merits, there was quite a lot to be enamoured by, however. Famously it was the first Ferrari ever to feature a front-mounted V8 engine, but it was also the first to feature a folding metal roof and dual-clutch transmission - the same 7-speed Getrag unit that has now seen use across numerous models.
Ferrari claims that a significant weight saving are chief among the improvements the Portofino brings over the California T, though we suspect they share quite a number of similarities if you peel the new skin off. There’s also the new E-Diff3 electronic rear differential and electronic power steering (EPS) system ported from the flagship 812 Superfast.
Under the bonnet is the same F154 3.9-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine that debuted on the 488 GTB and subsequently trickled into the California T (which is what the ’T’ stood for) and V8-powered GTC4Lusso.
In the Portofino, it produces 440kW and 758Nm, which is some 18kW more powerful than the outgoing model while torque stays pretty much level. Given its weight loss, the base Ferrari convertible can sprint to 100km/h from rest in 3.5 seconds.
Inside, there’s naturally going to be plenty of leather, and the simplified dashboard layout recent Ferraris have used reaches the Portofino as well, with a 10.2-inch touchscreen infotainment unit sitting in the centre, sandwiched between the HVAC controls and air conditioning vents. They’ve even included the passenger info display to give other members of your party at-a-glance access to measure just how insanely this car is getting about its business.
While the original 2008 California was something of an acquired taste within the Maranello family of its time, and improved upon with the California T, it never really gained the same level of admiration nor commanded the prestige its siblings did. The Portofino, meanwhile, looks like the kind of crowd pleaser Ferrari needed to excel using the same open-top 2+2 GT formula.
We’ll have to wait until the full reveal scheduled at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month to get into the grittier details, though.
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