Portofino - "Real Ferrari"...opinions please

Buy what you love.

Ferrari's are more prone to poser's than Aston Martin. I live in South Florida and just yesterday saw a guy with a red California T gassing up... Red Ferrari shirt,... red Ferrari Hat,... Red Ferrari driving shoes... he looked like an asshat. It's not the car...

 

Welcome - take a look in the Portofino/California section for extensive opinions

 

The Ferrari world is fertile in these kinds of questions. Purism takes many shapes.

For most, a 4 seater Ferrari can never be a true Ferrari.

For others, a true Ferrari has 12 cylinders at the front.

Some say the California was born as a Maserati project whose cost went out of control, and to make it profitable they had to brand it a Ferrari to push the pricetag up.

Some say a true Ferrari has to be naturally aspirated, regardless of the number of cylinders.

Others say that if a Ferrari wasn’t penned by Pininfarina, it isn’t a real Ferrari.

Market appreciations sometimes seem to reinforce these ideas.

In my very humble opinion, most of it is nonsense. Buy the car you love, with the spec you love and that fits your needs.

Oh, and most importantly: drive it, don’t store it thinking about possible future appreciation or depreciation. It’s a car, not stock. It’s supposed to bring enjoyment, not profit. It’s something to make you smile, not stop and do math.

So is the Portofino a real Ferrari? I had the opportunity to test drive it. It’s fun, it’s fast, it’s beautiful, it’s tight, it’s stylish, it’s italian and you won’t get mixed up with a Vette or a Mustang.

I was once a Mondial owner, so one piece of advice: even if it’s not a proper Ferrari in the eyes of some, what matters is how you connect with the car. What it means to YOU. No one pays your bills, do they?

Kind regards,

Nuno.

 

Thread moved to appropriate forum section.

Kind regards,

Nuno.

 

Buy the car that you like the best, after all you are the person paying for it. Its kinda like fashion, but any Ferrari is always in style. As for "Real Ferrari", I think any model that was produced by Ferrari is a real Ferrari, its just that different people have different opinions and perspectives about each one. One individual ex co-worker of mine once made a comment that went something like "oh, I thought you bought one of those $40,000 Ferraris". So I asked him, "And which one is that?" He couldn't recall which one. So after I quizzed him by naming a few models he said "yes, that one" when I mentioned the Mondial. This individual I'm talking about considered himself a car guy, but I can tell you he is not. He is an idiot.
All he was trying to do was judge the brand, and a particular model by price alone.

 

Nonsense.
Remember, at one time the Dino was “not a real Ferrari”.

 

And it still isn't,... but it is better than many that are!!!

 

Hi Adrian. You seem to be considering A Portofino versus a DB11. I did EXACTLY that and chose the Portofino over the Aston. You may like to consider my experience.
First of all, ever since I was a young boy an aston was the dream car. Five years ago I test drove a second hand Vantage (old model) versus a 911. Although a beautiful car, the Vantage was no match for the 911, so I bought the 911.
In January I was determined to get my dream car. Went to the Aston dealer and took out a brand new DB11 for a long (two hour) drive. Then told my wife "let's try the Portofino". She was horrified: both were insanely expensive but at least an Aston was a gentleman's sports car whereas a Ferrari was a car for drugs dealers and footballers. Nevertheless, we took one out. It put a smile on my face.
I subsequently took the DB11 and Ferrari out on three more occasions because I really wanted to like the Aston but each time I felt the Portofino was the better car
The Aston is better looking. To me, still the prettiest girl in the class. Stunning. The Portofino is pretty good too but not quite missy Aston
The Aston was a far easier drive. Luxurious, reasonably quiet and comfortable. Softer seats and better view all round. At 5'7" I have to lower the Portofino wheel so much that it covers a bit of the top of the rev counter. At 68 years of age, comfort is an important consideration, especially as this car will be my daily drive and i am not a real sports driver.
But the steering on the Portofino was awesome. Direct. The pedal response was better. The ride was pretty comfortable, albeit not as smooth as the Aston. The Ferrari also had a much better screen and more driving aids like cameras and warning systems than the Aston, although the difference was not that great. The roads in the village I live in have paving stones not tar and the Ferrari was actually better at damping out the stones. The Aston also had a rattle and I was appalled that a €250.000 car would have rattles (perhaps a "no cost option").
Every time i stepped out of the Aston i felt I was stepping out of my wife's BMW. Smooth and luxurious but no fun factor.
I was also not convinced that Aston would actually survive as a company. They are broke (yet again) and their cars just do not have the "wow" factor, although they are definitely beautiful.
The Aston could be delivered much earlier than the Portofino. Not surprised as too few people are buying them.
After the fourth drive I asked my wife: which is the better car? She replied "you are not to get a Ferrari but it is the better car". Whereupon I smiled and we went in and ordered a Portofino. I guess she still loves me. The compromise was that it must not be in any shade of red
If you have any questions feel free to ask.

 

https://www.ferrari.com/en-EN/articles/brand-finance-global-500-names-ferrari-as-the-worlds-strongest-brand-for-second-consecutive-year

 

Just to tie up my previous statement:

When looking to buy a Ferrari, you’ll often find folks who’ll have very strong views regarding what a true Ferrari is/should be. The gate keepers of purity.

Just remember: funny enough, Enzo Ferrari himself favored 2+2s and legend has it, he never had a red Ferrari. That helps to put things into perspective.

The Portofino is sexy and fast. If it isn’t a Ferrari, then I don’t know what is.

Kind regards,

Nuno.

 

The Porto is most certainly a "real" Ferrari. Yes, the Cali led a hard life and had a tough birth, and yes it did in fact start its life as a Maserati.

But none of that matters with the Porto. I rarely hear anything any more regarding the "not real". If I ever hear it, it is from people who has no connection to exotics what so ever. They don't own them or drive them, and have often not even sat in a Ferrari. It has the looks, the power and the performance. Could it sound better? Absolutely. A Lusso V12 is still more special to me, but the Porto has truly come into its own and it is a great sports GT and a real Ferrari.

Now the elephant in the room - namely you.
When you ask this question, I suspect that you are not entirely at ease with what the Porto is, and to be blunt, I wonder if you yourself consider it a true Ferrari. Not saying this to turn you off the car, just trying to get a sense of where you're coming from. But I'm guessing that you're asking because you're not sure if it's a real Ferrari. If you know it is and it is to you, why ask right? So ask yourself this question. Do YOU think it's a real Ferrari, or will you always be driving around wondering what others think?

Something else I want to ask you. You say you need it as a daily driver, and that it most certainly can do - so can other models in the Ferrari range. What are your plans for the rear seats? Don't forget that they are tiny and only small children can sit there. Other than that, they don't really make the car a better daily driver. Here's the short of what I'm getting at. If the rears actually do not matter and you want a drop top car, why not the F8 or 488? Those will never have the moniker of "not real". They are super comfortable and just as easy to live with as the Porto. Boot space in the front is pretty big, so loads of storage space. Just some food for thought.

 

He did in fact own red cars, but few. His favourite colour was Azzuro Meditarraine, and he did favour 2+2 cars.

 

Here's a bit of "education" for the wife.
Footballers drive Bentleys and Aston Martins
Drug dealers drive Lamborghinis and Cadillacs
Bankers drive BMW
Lawyers and shysters drive Jags
Gentlemen and connoisseurs drive Ferraris

 

Ferraris are defined by their engines. The Portofino's V8 is a masterpiece, thus it is a real Ferrari, just a less hardcore Ferrari compared to some other models.

 

I shall show you her

I shall show her your opinion. She may have a slightly different view on life

 

It is arrogant and presumptuous to be an observer of Ferrari and to make decisions as to what is and is not a Ferrari. Ferrari is whatever Ferrari chooses to be - it is not predicated on our fantasies of what it should be, or some misplaced delusion that Ferrari needs to be exactly what they were 70 plus years ago. It's been years since Ferrari has decided to place badges on the sides of every car they produce. When that first started happening, some Ferrari fans were irate since that was supposed to be reserved for racing Ferraris. What they completely missed was that the same company that used to only put them on racing cars was now putting them on any street car. Ferrari made the call and that is now Ferrari history. It is correct and proper, because the only institution with any say in the matter says it is. This is the same situation with any Ferrari that has less than 12 cylinders. Many Ferrari fans have argued that real Ferraris have 12 cylinders and nothing less. This is based on a comment Enzo made. Still, in his lifetime, and during his reign over the company, Enzo made many, many cars, both racing and street, that had less than 12 cylinders, and all but a very few bore the name Ferrari. Who called them Ferraris? He did. Not some Ferrari fan group. Should Ferrari decide to make a station wagon, tomorrow, or a minivan, it will be just as much a Ferrari as the 250 GTO. Why? Because the only group with the right to say it is will have said so! It's that simple!

As for the Roma, she is ludicrously gorgeous. If she wasn't a Ferrari, I'd be wishing she was!!!

 

I have always been fortunate enough to have a "fun car" in addition to my daily driver. I took delivery of my Portofino last summer. Before it, I had owned a Mazda Miata (MX-5), a Lotus Elise with an aftermarket supercharger, and then an Aston Martin Vantage (2015). The first time I drove a Portofino, I was blown away. The second time, I was convinced. The Aston was a beautiful classic, but couldn't hold a candle to the Portofino from a performance point of view, and was not as modern inside. I'd love to have an F8, but while I don't have kids young enough to put in the rear seats, the Portofino has enough room to put a couple of sets of golf clubs in with the rear seats folded down. Which is two more sets than you can get in an F8 (unless you use the passenger seat).

One other thing--I was a little concerned before I bought the car about the stereotype of the average Ferrari owner. What I have found after meeting a number of them in my area is that they are friendly, approachable, and have the spirit of acting as ambassadors for the brand, not standoffish arrogant jerks. I'm sure there are some of those around, but no more than for any other high end brand.

And, oh yes, it's a real Ferrari...

 

I love our Portofino. She is in no way embarrassed to be parked next to our 812...

Who cares what people think. It is a blast.


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It’s my favourite Ferrari to drive right now, and I have a couple of them. Portofino is a Ferrari homerun!