The only logical reason is that someone was going to release info on the car early. They have a choice to keep to a schedule or release early. Would be my guess on sequence of events.
@ Booker I always love the comments..."better than the 812 Superstupidname..." LOL I think this car looks better than the CaliT...very interesting...can't wait to see it in person. I bet it will look great in Grigio Titanio.
How weird is it that they could have announced this at Car Week in Monterey and instead chose to drop it a few days later on Instagram?
Guessing someone was about to leak it. Not so good for the dealers who have been blowing smoke up clients's backsides about "we have an exclusive invitation to Portofino on 8 Sep from Ferrari for you, sir", blah, blah. At least with the 812 preview, people got to feel good about seeing it before the public. LOL
My recollection is they've done this surprise email launch a couple of times recently - others may have better memory than I
V12 options would have negative impact on 812 sales. I think SUV is more possible than Portofino with V12 option.
Perhaps these sorts of things are now a factor that they are a publicly held company. As for me personally, I think the car looks terrific and will be a home run. I own a California T and enjoy it immensely. This looks likes the "California T Speciale" -- better power, better looks, more aggressive, etc. And yes I love the name also. Portofino is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It fits the look of the car -- even more than California.
Interesting point. I doubt it would degrade from 812 sales but it would be more a question of how much do they start to blend aspects of their different cars (read: engines) and how they are positioned in the market? Would an 812 V8 sell okay if it were $40k less than the V12? Could they get a $40k premium to stuff the V12 in the Portofino? And why do that when with a few easy tweaks you could take the Portofino Turbo V8 to 700HP pretty easily -- right there in line with max V12 power but at a lower cost and much lower weight up front? My understanding is that in Europe, the Lusso can be bought with a V8 instead of the V12 (only option in the USA). Does that become more of a strategy for them? I personally doubt it but you never know. I concur that a SUV with a Turbo V8 could be an amazing seller for them. I still own a turbo V8 2008 Cayenne Turbo. That car amazes me every time a drive it. The Ferrari version would undoubtedly be even more special. The Cayenne has been a 500 foot home run for Porsche. I bet Ferrari could sell 5k-7500 SUVs globally a year if they wanted to go that route. Not saying it isn't "sacrilege" but they could. There is also a chance it could degrade what the brand stands for ... it hasn't for Porsche... but I always see Ferrari as a different company / a different animal.
If you asked me IF they could drop a V12 in it and make 200 copies, they would sell everyone of them and not affect 812 sales. If they don't they are leaving money on the table. But the question becomes is it worth the investment.
Ferrari SUV will probably cost more than Lusso, so it should cost similar to 812. Ferrari SUV will be most expensive that type of vehicle on market. I think they will not want produce more thatn 3000-4000 units per year. If they build 7k than it would have big impact on resale price.
Is how much of the rest of the car will have to be designed to accommodate a sizable weight shift forward in the vehicle.
but maybe a more likely thing would be to make an additional LE Portofino with the 488 special motor and handling package .. I would take one of them...
Not at all confident about Ferrari's marketing team these days. They alienated quite a number of owners at Monterey by the way they handled Casa Ferrari, and now, releasing the new Portofino via email?
casa Ferrari was pretty nice they had an 812 on display for a few days then they had 70 Ferraris from all eras and of course had a few special parties It was held at a rented facility right on the show field very nice in my opinion. hopefully someone has some pictures....