Portofino Observations (coming from CaliT-HS) | FerrariChat

Portofino Observations (coming from CaliT-HS)

Discussion in 'California/Portofino/Roma' started by uhn2000, Apr 27, 2018.

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  1. uhn2000

    uhn2000 Formula 3

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    #1 uhn2000, Apr 27, 2018
    Drove this beautiful Portofino yesterday and they have obviously done another magnificent job improving on what I thought was a great sweet concept to begin with. I don't have a ton of time so will basically give you the pieces (from my perspective) that I observed. There are plenty of amazing positive reviews online, I am putting this one together being extra picky and from an avid owner/enthusiast perspective - basically trying to split hairs.

    • Love the exterior design of the car, did a great job with all the beds - looks slick. Can't say I love the running board door inflection but its a cool feature.
    • The rear trunk shape and lines are nice but the exhaust will be interesting, not sure what you do there to cover up all that plastic. It looks cool at times but I can also see how it can look cheap.
    • Interior quality for a demo car was decent but they gave us a very setup so I won't comment on anything other then the possible "fewer" stitch lines throughout.
    • Interior is nice BUT I like the Cali layout more this one feels too much like my GTC4Lusso and the screens are so big everywhere you really don't get much dash or leather to see. I would recommend paint to match interior bits to make it all pop more as the carbon will just blend away with the TFT screens (unless thats what you want) etc. Just a thought that came to mind.
    • On startup has a great roar and rumble, even better then my cold LussoV12 (warm V12 wins).
    • Steering jumped out, really fast and very light and a tad artificial in some spots (almost like a dead zone). Not sure what was going on maybe I have to get used it.
    • Handling was nice, a TAD softer then the HS, maybe like 10%.. so its a bit softer, not a bad thing but the HS is tighter overall. Doesn't affect handling just maybe road feedback and perception.
    • They fixed a huge complaint of mine which was neutral blip response (its like 488 now) which is amazing.
    • The sound and tones were great, the car sounds awesome top up or down.
    • Rear seats were a let down, will be another squeeze job to sit there without me (6'3) smashing myself to the front which was just unsafe in the CaliT. I thought they would have added much more but its basically a 1-2inches at best.
    • More options are just starting to role out so I will wait a bit before ordering, I want to wait for an HS pack for the car as I think it would be a perfect blend of daily and sport.

    Bravo! A nice win for Ferrari as I am sure they will sell plenty, the wait is already up to one year for delivery at FOO.


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  2. good2go

    good2go Formula Junior

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    #2 good2go, Apr 27, 2018
    Thanks for the write up.

    What is neutral blip?
     
  3. Raydog9379

    Raydog9379 Karting

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    #3 Raydog9379, Apr 27, 2018
    Great write up, I'm really digging that side profile look. However... That big plasticy looking rear end is fugly to me. I'm sure for several grand they'll make it in carbon for you. So I like the front, love the side, hate the a$$.
     
  4. uhn2000

    uhn2000 Formula 3

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    #4 uhn2000, Apr 27, 2018
    Its when you are in gear then pull both paddles to go to Neutral (at the light or slowing down for example) and rev the engine a little. I call it a neutral blip (blip is from my motorcycle days).
     
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  5. of2worlds

    of2worlds F1 World Champ
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    #5 of2worlds, Apr 27, 2018
    Last edited: Apr 27, 2018
    uhn2000 a much more interesting review than you get from the car journalists, thanks! Did you get a picture of the front view of that new Portofino at FoO?
     
  6. 4th_gear

    4th_gear F1 Rookie

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    #6 4th_gear, Apr 27, 2018
    That was a very nice write-up uhn200. Your observations and suggestions are insightful. In case you were too busy actually driving the car, here are some photos I took at the launch event the other day.

    I'm happy to say the car looks just as beautiful in person and photographs well. However FWIW, I felt the same about the new dash and backseats. I also prefer the older dashboard design language - it feels more "Italian". The new dash with its big infotainment screen feels "German", perhaps a bit too smooth. German is OK but it's a Ferrari costing 2 to 4X as much as high-end German sports cars so it's better to look more exotic and Italian. The backseat also only looks marginally more spacious but finish quality is indeed somewhat better than my 2013 car.

    OTOH, the engine compartment looks very nice, IMO an improvement over the CaliT's. The boot looks more spacious but the rear glass panel is much bigger and extends backwards an astonishing degree - they did a great job accommodating it with the boot lid. The new rear "halo" rear lights look great.

    The PF also uses the new LED side markers - I will miss the dome FIAT ones but I suppose it's progress and part of the current high-tech design language. Finally, my new friend "Joe" pointed out the PF rear brake seems to sport an extra caliper. Sure enough this is different from the official web configurator photos and I suspect may be a separate disc that functions as the parking brake. The parking brakes on the Calis, F12, FF, 458 and even GTC4 Lusso are of the regular drum design.

     
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  7. wrs

    wrs F1 World Champ
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    #7 wrs, Apr 27, 2018
    So do you think the sound is better than the Cali T HS? Overall it doesn't sound to me like if I were to order a $274k model that I would be getting much more for the money than I got in my $240k Cali T HS and I would suffer a significant depreciation event. For less money I can easily get a very well equipped 2015 458 spider that I have my eye on and then just watch the market for the next couple of years. There are so many 488 Spiders out there asking over MSRP that I have little interest in paying for that step up even though I would be getting a lot. Of course if prices start coming down to MSRP or below then I would be more interested in going that way. From all I have seen and heard, my money will be better spent on a 458 or just waiting to see how the 488 market goes.
     
  8. tifoso2728

    tifoso2728 F1 Veteran
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    #8 tifoso2728, Apr 27, 2018
    I like what they did to tidy up the styling, especially on the sides. I never really expected them to significantly improve rear seating.
     
  9. uhn2000

    uhn2000 Formula 3

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    #9 uhn2000, Apr 27, 2018
    Nice one, thats me in the background pic #2 hood shot (tall guy with glasses, lol) .. nice shot of the car. Pretty basic spec ehhh..
     
  10. uhn2000

    uhn2000 Formula 3

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    #10 uhn2000, Apr 27, 2018
    Umm it sounds about the same as the HS maybe a little quieter at some points and louder at others. The cracking shifts etc. were very familiar and so was the overall driving experience with a few items here and there. I got pretty decent money for my CaliTHS and even at that I kind of wish I kept it, I loved its very aggressive usable (dual purpose) ways! I would probably go your direction now to a mid-engined spider until (if) they release an HS pack for this ride.. I think there is some room in there to tweak it even more and get it closer to a 488. In the Portofino you will be paying for upgrades that I am not sure will give you that much of a different experience compared to a 2016/2017 CaliTHS but then again maybe all the things I am accustomed to in my Lusso (2xTFT, LCD, Passenger Display) matter to some.
     
  11. 4th_gear

    4th_gear F1 Rookie

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    #11 4th_gear, Apr 27, 2018
    Yeah, very basic, no exterior/interior CF, LED steering wheel ...perhaps this was a very early car before they had the upgrades ready. Grigio Titiano looks great but did you notice some of it's already worn off on the passenger side skirt, LOL! Definitely better in CF. :D

    So you were one of the few who stuck around as everybody else were heading off into the night. Did you have your jacket off earlier during Remo's speech? I may have been standing in front of you when they tried to blow out our eardrums with the PF video.
     
  12. 4th_gear

    4th_gear F1 Rookie

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    #12 4th_gear, Apr 28, 2018
    There was also this photo in case anyone is interested. Sorry for the cr*ppy quality, there were a lot of people next to me and I took it blind with my phone.

     
  13. uhn2000

    uhn2000 Formula 3

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    #13 uhn2000, Apr 28, 2018
    Hehe no never took of my jacket, yeah the car has had its rounds. I am sure the final product will be stellar. Btw I have my arms folded in your pick. Yeah I arrived just in the middle of his speech, the video was too dang loud!! They are going to sell tons of these things, I know a few first time buyers that are all over this car. I guess the additional tech etc makes it a better transition to Ferrari. The car is super easy to drive fast and easy to live with daily. Even the roof mechanism now goes up and down when going up to 40km or something like that. Another annoyance in my CalitHS that they addressed.
     
  14. 4th_gear

    4th_gear F1 Rookie

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    #14 4th_gear, May 1, 2018
    I think you have a twin with an Fcar. :D

    The PF is indeed beautiful but is also clearly of modern Ferrari design language. As such it should appeal to lots of first time Fcar owners as well as owners of current Fcars of the same design language, like the F12. The PF is very much an "F12 Jr." with near-F12 performance complemented by a hardtop convertible roof and ease of use... ideal car for your holiday home.

    About the annoying requirement to stop the Cali before operating the roof, there was apparently an aftermarket product that corrected this problem. "smarTOP" (German I believe) was originally advertised with this capability but the manufacturer have apparently backed off on this claim.
     

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