Mondial vs Portofino

Since the Portofino is bit of a spiritual successor to the Mondial Cabriolet and I had the opportunity to test-drive one, I thought it would be a good idea to compare the two.

Location was Gent, Monza Motors, sunny day 25*C and 10 Portofino’s factory cars with an Italian Co-pilot at our disposal.

I know, the engine might be in the wrong place compared to the Mondial but everything else is there.

A 2+2, V8 Engine shared with the 2 seater, More GT than super sports, Convertible…

How do they compare?

Its like 2 kids arguing. “Mine is two times better then yours”.

Portofino has more then twice the power, twice the torque and twice the pace!

Its faster then an F50, how about that!!

This is an unbelievably fast machine.

Throttle response is immediate and at first it feels oversensitive (in Sport), but you get used to it pretty quickly.

The carbon brakes are very effective, When you feather them nothing much happens but if you push a little harder they bite hard. Again when you drive the car a little longer you get used to it very soon.

The ride is harder then our beloved Mondial but is never harsh.

Interior is very quiet when cruising with the top down, no wind noise up to 150kph and with windstop in place, no turbulence in the interior. A windstop for the Mondial would be great if it existed!

Engine is 3 times “engine of the year” for a reason, It pulls hard in any gear at any speed, not a hint of turbo lag. Only on one occasion there was a slight hesitation when driving at crawling speed, quickly trying to squeeze myself between other cars on a busy roundabout.

I wonder if the 3.2 would have been engine of the year back in 1986. Apart of having less then half the power and torque it must have been an impressive engine 30 years ago too, with good torque low down and a lot of high end power for its day.

No transmission problems in second here. Everything is smooth and shifts at a blink of the eye. I never had the opportunity to drive a Valeo but it was the first step to the automated boxes of today.

Even crawling in traffic is a breeze no hesitation in the gearbox and clutch.

The steering with electric assistance is perfect, nice weight, direct but not over the top direct.

Is there anything where the Mondial is on par with the Portofino.

YES!!

Besides the number of wheels, the interior space (front and rear) is about the same. Boot space is also very similar with the Portofino (with the top down).

Are there any bads?

Well there was only one negative point.

The engine noise. I was a bit disappointed in the sound department. As refined as the car looks the engine noise is not. In my opinion a Ferrari should sing and not bark. It felt a bit like 4 Rottweilers pursuing me for 40km. I am sure that there will be aftermarket exhausts to make the Portofino sing very soon. I never understood why Ferrari did not fit the X-pipe technology to there exhausts like Tubi and Capristo do.

That would make the Portofino Perfect.



My conclusion.

It’s a open top GT with two faces.

You can cruise the Portofino in traffic at speeds even lower then 50kph without being frustrated and on the other hand outrun just about everything with a capital P in its name.

Would I like to have one?

Absolutely it’s the most complete convertible GT sportscar I know and with Looks to die for.

But my first stop would be at Capristo, Tubi……..



How bad was the ride home in the Mondial?

Not too bad.

It was still sunny and 25*C. No barking dogs here, The only thing dog related was the dogleg first in my transmission.

Of course I would have been if happy, if 100 Portofino horses would have joined me on the way back.

But the Mondial was singing happily, with the touch of Ferrari magic, giving me a smile all the way back to my office.

Hans