Revealed: the new Ferrari Portofino

275 indeed
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Indeed times 10.
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Amen to that.

I like the fastback roof of the Portofino much better than the roof of the Cali, but with the top down the new car is hideous. 812 is no good - just a Corvette with an ugly rear end. 488 is ok but a step down in looks from the 458, imo. FF/Lusso - no comment.

Somebody needs to send a Bat Signal up in the night sky to let Pininfarina know they're needed to save Ferrari from themselves!

 

Too much aero crap and gimmicks. The back of the 812 looks like its from a Transformer robot. I'm sure its the direction from the top. That's where the problems are.

 

...........so we have another BIG car. Wheel base - 107, Length - 183.3, width - 77.6 and height - 50.2. Let see, compared to my old 308, wheel base + 15", length - +16.3, width - +9.6, height - + 6.2. Maybe all the hp is needed?

 

Few cars today are smaller and lighter than something similar earlier. Its a bad trend.

Here's the Alfa 4c. It's about as close as you can get.

157″ L x 74″ W x 47″ H -- 2,465 lbs ---238 HP 0-60: 4.3 sec


And here's the 246 Dino GT

167 L x 67' W x 45 H --- 2381 lb --- 190 HP 0-60 7.1 sec

 

Im 49 with a bad back and cant contort myself into a 458 these days. I threw my back out getting in and out of my 360 which is why I went to the California.

I can fit lots of groceries in the back seats of the California. I couldnt go to the grocery store in a 458.

 

It seems the elegance and class of Ferrari is now completely gone from their exterior designs.

 

Everyone is doing the same lame stuff. I just saw a McLaren "something or other" on the street in LA today.

It was black. Brand new with no plates. I swear to you I could not figure out what model it was. They all use the same aero gimmicks so they all look a like. Once you paint them black and the details disappear, they are for all intents and purposes "the same".

How sad. All that work for blandness.

 

That's because it isn't.

 

+1 doubt that anyone that worked on the 275 still works for Ferrari

 

Would Bat be short for Battista?

 

It is not the same company.
It may have the same name, but none of the players involved are the same.

 

Many people anthropomorphize these companies as if they were some immortal being.

 

Going back to the argument of the name change - I think they are much wedded to the 2 cars per generation, so they had to do it. (308-328 // 348-355 // 360-430 // 458-488 // and on a separate line, Cali-Cali T // Portofino...)

Personally have mixed feelings about the car, but also had about Cali T. As long as they keep the true blood V8s and V12s running, to me this is just another incursion in the likes of the Mondial. They are handy cars and someone will always love them - as someone mentioned, they are their best sellers...


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I think people (and I happen to be one of them) just wish that Ferrari would stick to its traditional corporate values of building small lightweight sports cars that are both exciting to look at as well as drive. For the most part I think Ferrari has honored its traditional philosophy the best they could in an ever changing and modernizing world, although I do think they get it wrong sometimes. Unfortunately, we are never again going to see cars comparable to the 250 GTO, 275 GTB, etc. due to the laws and regulations governing the auto industry today. This part of the equation is out of Ferraris hands and there is nothing they can do about these issues. They are simply forced to work around them and make compromises; compromises that face heavy criticism from car enthusiasts.

I think Ferrari has gotten it wrong (or at least gotten off course a bit too far) with the Portofino, 812, and GTC4 Lusso (among others). To make matters worse, it's a real shame IMHO that Ferrari happens to be producing all of these cars at the exact same point in time. Of course, most of this debate is based purely on subjective matters and anyone is allowed to disagree. This is not an algebraic equation with a right and wrong answer. To some the 812 is the most beautiful car they have ever seen and the performance is to die for...it's nirvana on wheels to them...to each his own, I guess.

 

Agree, I think the same is true for Lambos.

 

i dont think Ferrari has made a beautiful car since the 360 so im not holding my breath.

ive come to accept that what i love as far as auto design is dead. not just Ferrari, but every auto manufacturer. So when i judge a design these days, its judged in that context.

is the Portofino beautiful? gosh no. is the 812 beautiful? gosh no. is the 458 beautiful? gosh no

but do they look "cool" yeah i think so. but cool will always be less than beautiful to me

while design is subjective, what isnt is that the Portofino being a front engine convertible GT is not new to Ferrari. they have made these cars as long as they have been around. so thats where i scratch my head at certain comments

 

The name is not very good. Sounds like a new, small FIAT.....

 

Not so long ago folk were saying not since the F355...

It has to do with age and possibly nostalgia. Time moves on, tech, design and safety dictates that. It's not just cars.

I'm 53, when I was growing up in the 70's (I don't recall much of the 60's because I was so young) so the Ferrari I recall was the 308. To me it is probably still one of the prettiest Ferraris and my favourite all time Ferrari a 288GTO.

That said I always wanted a 1971/2 Mustang but now I'm older I'd love a 66-69 Fastback.

 

I agree with you - although I think 360/F430/456/612/599 were low design points.

Love all until the F355 (inclusive). Though not huge fan of the 400/412/mondial/GT4.

I kind of like a lot more the 458 and even 488 (as well the F12)

Agree that still think my all time favourite is the 250GTO, but then again, who tells me that back then when they were presented people didn't say the same thing about those models?


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Pininfarina comes to mind. Pininfarina hasn't been one person for many many years. It's made up of a United Nations of designers from across the globe, and it's constantly changing. The guys at the top keep changing as well. So the Pininfarina of old hasn't existed in a long, long time. I guess many want to live in the past that no longer exists.

 

It's tougher to design a unique front engined sports car/GT than a mid engined one IMO.

Front engine should be more restrained/classic, while mid engine can be wilder.
Maybe that's why I'm not smitten with the C7 Corvette. Trying to hard to be wild, where the cleaner C6 is just prettier.

Of course Ferrari has to differentiate a new model for people to justify trading in their Californias, and there's only so many new directions they can go until doing a true "retro" design ala Mustang or Camaro.

This came up on Jalopnik today. Sure it's from a bygone era virtually free of safety standards, and it doesn't need to contend with a folding hard-top, but still THIS is one pretty GT:
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Looks a little bit Monterverdi

 

Agree 100%.