A question of context, perhaps.
I have indeed discovered Roma close to home, while the Portofino M is the very first Ferrari that I have tested at home, on "my" roads.
For 24 hours, she was part of my world.
And in fact, it changes the whole experience.
M like ...
Sorry, I'm missing all my homework, I forgot to introduce you to the young lady in question today. This is the Ferrari Portofino M, with an M for "modificata" (do I really have to translate?), A very nice way of saying "facelift". The entry-level Ferrari is indeed in the middle of its life, and has benefited from the few evolutions developed in recent years by the engineers at Maranello. Mainly the engineers, because aesthetically, only the front bumper and the rear diffuser have been slightly redesigned. At the same time, was there anything to touch with these superb curves full of femininity?
Almost nothing has been forgotten by the engineers. The engine is for example the latest evolution of the 3.8 V8, discovered in the Roma. From 600 hp to 7,500 rpm, the Portofino thus increases to 620 hp available from 5,750 to 7,500 rpm. As for the torque, it remains at 760 Nm, but widens its range of availability: 3,000 to 5,750 rpm, against 3,000 to 5,500 previously. Suffice to say that one figure takes over from the other, which gives continuous accelerations, not to say interminable. Accelerations that will also be more dazzling, since one of the characteristics of this engine is its reactivity at all speeds, and the fact of completely eliminating the latency of the turbo. Next comes the box. The old 7-speed is replaced by a new 8-speed double-clutch auto,it also discovered on the Roma, which itself had inherited it from the SF90. Of course, with ratios adapted to a more GT than ultra-sporty soul. Finally, there is the dynamic aspect. Ferrari announces that the systems of the Portofino M have been redesigned to offer the car a more generous behavior in sensations, without depriving it of the comfort and smoothness that make it a GT, a Ferrari to be driven every day.a Ferrari to drive every day.a Ferrari to drive every day.
And it is to better take advantage of the dynamic potential that we have added a position at Manettino.
Two, in fact.
Before, the Portofino offered Comfort, Sport, and ESP OFF settings.
Today, there is also a Wet mode for rainy days, and a Race mode, the most incisive mode of the Portofino, in which the audience accentuates the reactions of the car, leaving a nice latitude to the fun, while discreetly taking care of the grain.
The Portofino M is therefore a GT ready to show its teeth nicely.
Never scared
I'm not going to tell you about salads: having never driven the "original" Portofino, I am unable to tell you in what proportions the M that we stick to it today changes things. What I can say is that as it is now, it fulfills the dreams of Ferrari that I have nurtured since I was 8 years old. First, it sounds like a Ferrari has to ring when you push the starter button. Then, she moves in the city with class and elegance, attracting attention only by her beauty, not with loud blows of vulgar decibels. She is gentle, docile, comfortable, but the soul of a thoroughbred is not absent for all that. There I can compare to something: in these conditions, the Portofino M is perhaps a little less special than the Roma,that Ferrari wanted more openly sporty, and which is constantly happening. The box is a delicious bowl of whipped cream. The dimensions of the car are surprisingly easy to understand. In short, in just a few minutes, you feel perfectly at ease in this work of art, and you say to yourself that you could indeed make it your daily life, without fear of damaging your dress, and above all without fear. to pass for a have-you-seen.and above all without fear of being taken for a have-you-seen.and above all without fear of being taken for a have-you-seen.
On the motorway, the tranquility endures. When we calmly cross the roof up, there is certainly not total silence on board, but it is unexpected. Too bad, do you think? Actually no. Because we do not always want to have the trumpets of fame in our ears. But the Portofino M's exhaust is fitted with "intelligent" valves, which understand your intentions, your desires. A flick on the gas, an express overtaking? The valves open and make the V8 sing. Fabulous.
And of course, it is on a country and winding road that the puzzle finds its last piece.
Here again, we feel that the Portofino M is less communicative than the Roma.
It is felt in the steering, in the chassis, and especially in the brakes, improved compared to the Portofino (it seems), but really less precisely dosed than those of the Roma.
It's serious ?
Oh no, at least not for me.
Because the Portofino M obviously remains enjoyable to swing from one turn to another, to catapult to the slightest straight line.
Oh yes, the catapult ... As much engine and gearbox are delicate in town, they are virile in active driving, but always without excess of ferocity.
And so, in the countryside as in the city, the Portofino M is never scary.
The one I dreamed of
With the Portofino M, I discovered the Ferrari that I dreamed of since I was little. A Ferrari more descendant of those that the stars drove on the Côte d'Azur in the 1960s, than of those that won at Le Mans. A Ferrari Dolce Vita, which finds the perfect mix of intensity and pleasures in the plural. And see how I have simple tastes: it turns out that "my" Ferrari is the cheapest in the range. And here we are again in the title of this essay. After a day of driving, while I was on the sofa watching TV with my little family, I thought of her. For the first time, a car ... was missing. And I still miss her. That had never happened to me.
The Portofino M is not the sportiest Ferrari, which may be prohibitive in the eyes of some.
For people like me, on the contrary, it is the almost ideal definition of the modern Ferrari.
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The Ferrari Portofino M in a few figures
Engine: V8, petrol, turbo, 3.855cc;
620hp from 5,750 to 7,500 rpm;
760Nm from 3,000 to 5,750 rpm.
Transmission: to rear wheels
Gearbox: 8-speed double-clutch auto
L / l / h (mm): 4.594 / 1.938 / 1.318
Curb weight (kg): 1.664
Boot space (l): 292
Tank (l): 80
0 to 100 km / h (sec.): 3.4
V-max: +320 km / h
Combined consumption: 11.3 l / 100 km
CO2: 256 g / km
Price: 195.000 € TTC
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