Ultra-stylish Ferrari Portofino is a ‘daily driver’ that thrills

This summer has been an emotional one for Ferrari and its devotees.

Sergio Marchionne, the much-beloved Ferrari NV boss who boosted the brand’s value by spinning it off from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and doubled profit in just four years, died on July 25.

So I was glad to be able to drive the brand-new Ferrari Portofino, one of the last production cars released under Marchionne’s reign and a delightful example of what’s best about the carmaker. 

This car is neither the screaming 812 Superfast nor the sexy 488 Spider. It’s the replacement to the humble California T, which debuted 10 years ago and has since become Ferrari’s all-time best-seller. The California T was concocted as the gateway drug to Ferrari ownership, costing less and offering fewer horsepower than its siblings but still bearing the prancing pony seal. This witchery worked, too. Ferrari sold more than 11,000 in a decade, and 70 per cent of buyers were conquests from other brands.

I say that the new Portofino represents what’s best about Ferrari because it’s achieved a delicate feat. It’s punched up what a buyer can expect from a “daily driver” while still delivering a thrill to the person behind the wheel – just without the normal back fatigue, frayed nerves, and numb eardrums that come from driving supercars.

How it drives