- Doors and Seats
2 doors, 4 seats
- Engine
3.9TT, 8 cyl.
- Engine Power
441kW, 760Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (98) 10.7L/100KM
- Manufacturer
RWD
- Transmission
Auto (DCT)
- Warranty
3 Yr, Unltd KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
2018 Ferrari Portofino review: Rear view mirror
For 25 years, Drive has been at the forefront of Australian motoring media. In our new series, Rear View Mirror, we delve into the back catalogue of thousands of reviews to bring you some of the memories.
2018 Ferrari Portofino
Turbo roadster offers all-round appeal, writes Nathan Ponchard.
If an Italian thoroughbred is your flavour of performance car, and open-top motoring is a must, then the all-new Portofino – Ferrari’s most affordable model – is deeply convincing. From top-down cruising to full-throttle blasting, and even heavy-traffic commuting, this hardtop-convertible supermodel delivers equal helpings of beauty, brains and brawn.
The Portofino’s jaw-dropping styling is a welcome relief from the bulbous, slightly dorky look of its California predecessor. And once on the move, there’s the Portofino’s thrilling engine rasp and laugh-out-loud exhaust bark when planting your right foot, rendering the stereo redundant. On a clear day, and a clear road, with the roof tucked neatly into the upper luggage bay, piloting a Portofino is motoring heaven.
This handsome machine may be the definition of understated cool, but Ferrari’s ‘Prancing Horse’ badge beams loud and proud from the yellow triangular Scuderia shields at the trailing edge of each front guard, as shouty as Versace furniture. And there’s another not-so-quiet aspect of this car – its awesome 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8, which is just as delightful here as it is in the sportier two-seat Ferrari 488. Combining effortless torque with enormous performance reserves, the boosted V8 sounds luscious even when you’re pottering about, which is all most people could ever want.
When you treat the Portofino as a pure two-seater, it is brilliant. Playing its coupe card to perfection by feeling abundantly spacious, yet never oversized or flabby on the road. And its versatility spans more than just squeezing three aircraft cabin bags into its boot with the roof erected, or a pair of small children (or bags, backpacks or shopping) into its ‘plus two’ rear pews.
The front buckets’ seat support is outstanding, and they feel custom-made to work in unison with the Portofino’s taut suspension. Our test car featured optional ‘Magneride’ dual-mode suspension dampers ($8970), with Comfort and Sport settings, and a ‘Bumpy Road’ mode to dial off the kidney punishment on Australia’s inconsistent surfaces. Yet even in Sport, the Portofino treads lightly, dancing across bumps and potholes rather than crashing into them.
This hardtop-convertible isn’t as dynamically hardcore as many of its stablemates, but it comes surprisingly close. There’s a litheness to the near 1.7-tonne Portofino that belies its weight and configuration, fulfilling pretty much every expectation of a Maranello-engineered product. With the steering wheel’s Manettino switch set to Sport, there’s an accuracy of cornering line and an intimacy of handling balance that encourages the Portofino’s driver to keep pushing harder.
What’s not so apparent is a natural level of steering weighting. The harder you drive, the chattier the Portofino’s feedback becomes+, but much of the time its steering is simply too light for a car of this stature. The response is near-perfect – super-keen to change direction, but never nervously so – however, we wish there was more meat in this particular sandwich.
Speaking of meat, Ferrari’s twin-turbo 3.9-litre V8 was the outright winner of the International Engine of the Year award in 2016 and 2017, and the Portofino shows why. With two turbochargers fluffing up its lower and middle ranges, this 441kW/760Nm powerhouse manages to be all things to all people.
It’s a cinch to drive in traffic, but also addictively delicious in the way it exponentially gathers speed. Few could dismiss a 0-100km/h claim of 3.5 seconds, or a top speed in excess of 320km/h. And the sound! Whether extending every gear right out or short-shifting manually and feeling the hairs prickle on your arms as the Portofino’s exhaust barks a thunderous whip-crack, there’s infinite enjoyment to be had here.
But equally as important is the Portofino’s continental shelf of torque – a staggering 760Nm from 3000-5250rpm. This abundance of all-around muscle perfectly supports the Portofino’s jack-of-all-trades versatility. Pretty yet beautifully muscular, docile yet devastatingly quick. Ferrari’s ‘entry-level’ hardtop-convertible supercar feels every bit as premium as its badge, and its $399,888 starting price, would suggest.
You need to be careful when dabbling in Ferrari’s options catalogue, though, or it could send your finances into a downward spiral. Extras such as the Magneride suspension ($8970), parking camera ($6950), adaptive front lighting system ($5500), foldable rear seat backrest ($2717), coloured floor mats with logo ($2156) and possibly even the JBL Premium hi-fi system (the priciest option on our test car at $10,100) are completely relevant, though should probably be standard. Others, like a carbonfibre steering wheel with LED shift light ($8300) and Apple CarPlay (a steal at $6793) make a vat of Krug champagne appear cheap.
Get a great deal today
Interested in this car? Provide your details and we'll connect you to a member of the Drive team.
You do get seven years’ worth of free servicing with your ripper all-round supercar, as well as a slick folding-roof system that can electrically lower or erect itself in 14 seconds. Excellent carbon-ceramic brakes, full LED headlights and tail-lights, 20-inch alloy wheels with tenacious Pirelli P Zero tyres, front and rear parking sensors, keyless engine start (via a charming red button on the steering wheel) and a vast 10.25-inch multimedia touchscreen with digital radio are all inclusive in your 400-grand investment.
What makes the Ferrari Portofino experience, though, is just how multi-talented this beautiful beast is. Even on the way to the shops.
2018 Ferrari Portofino
Price: $399,888 plus on-road costs
Power: 441kW at 7500rpm
Torque: 760Nm at 3000-5250rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed auto, rear-wheel-drive
Fuel use: 10.7L/100km