68 April 2019 www.bahrainthismonth.com Dick Potter puts Ferrari’s “delightful” Portofino through its paces. Not Your Average Everyday Car Five years ago, me and the missus were sampling the local grapes and food on the most delightful waterfront in, arguably, the most beautiful coastal town in Italy (Leonardo also liked it in The Wolf of Wall Street) and we vowed then that we would return. So, there was a slight sense of déjà vu surrounding my invitation to test drive the Ferrari Portofino – which shares its name with the town we were in, if you hadn’t already guessed. Portofino is also where the car was seen by the public for the first time in September 2017. When Ferrari asks you if you’d like to take one of its masterpieces and test drive it for the day, without hesitation, you grab the key! The Ferrari Portofino basically replaces the California T, which had a 10-year run and sold more than 11,000 units, making it the best-selling Ferrari in the stable (get it?!). The Portofino offers you the hard or soft-top driving experience option. It’s got 591 prancing horses inside a 3.9 twin turbo V8 engine which races to 60mph (96Kmh) in 3.5 seconds and reaches a top speed of 199mph (318Kmh) in a breathless 10.4 seconds using a seven-speed dual clutch. There are two driving mode options, comfort or sport. I selected comfort mode as in sport mode I found the ride to be a bit on the solid side with a more sensitive throttle and steering. I also enjoyed using the manual paddle shifts rather than selecting automatic mode – far more fun – and, with the top down, there was the added bonus of increased decibels from the engine as it emitted its ubiquitous Ferrari roaring, howling, burbling and popping. As mentioned before, the Portofino is the California’s successor and, on a point of marketing interest, did you know that approximately 70 per cent of Californias are owned by drivers who had never owned a Ferrari before, poached from other manufacturers; is that not a brilliant marketing success? Also, Ferrari says 85 per cent of California owners use their car pretty much every day, which is more than one and a half times greater than the typical usage on other Ferrari models. Apparently, the back seats are occupied 30 per cent of the time, albeit by very small people! This also alludes to the age demographics of this practical Ferrari for young families. Certainly, the Portofino is an everyday Ferrari and is the perfect car for those who want a fast, luxurious open-top they can drive 24/7. So, the Portofino was designed and built on the California strengths and also addressing its weaknesses. Having had the previous pleasure of driving the California T, in comparison, I found the Portofino to feel much lighter. It is actually 80kg less – motoring
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