Hi there
So drove up too St. Andrews early Thursday morning, lots of rain but no traffic issues so arrived for midday, to be greeted, fed lunch and then head out in the Portofino for a drive on Scottish roads in the wet. For a RWD front-engine setup traction is remarkable, they were all fitted with Michelin MP4S which of course helps.
Ferrari state the 3.9l turbocharged engine is turbo lag free and has that Ferrari sound, though it is close, the engine is not lag free and though the sound is good, its not a patch on the 458, but albeit a lot better than say a 570S and with a lot less turbo lag. Traction was good, forget 1st gear in the wet, but 2nd gear if you modulate low down was able to put most the power down in 2nd in the wet, 3rd gear was rarely an issue. 4th gear feels so good as you get 100% torque as Ferrari limit torque in the first three gears for traction reasons.
With 600HP and a lot more torque, the car certainly feels quicker than my 458 (turbo torque), but the performance figures are more less identical with the 458 at 10.4s for 0-124mph and the Portofino at 10.8's for the same sprint.
On a dry track, which was the second day, the car had zero issues putting down all 600HP 1st gear upwards and it feels mighty fast out corners, again due to turbo torque, though you seem to be in gears quite a while, longer geared and does not rev as fast as 458.
To try and sum it up, the Portofino is a damn fine car, its a lot more GT car than the 458, but at the same time it has lost that Ferrari feeling in the process, if it was not for the badge on the steering wheel, you could be driving a Mercedes AMG or BMW M car, it is a very sorted, great car and the way Ferrari can setup a chassis is simply incredible the fact the car puts all 600HP down so well in the dry on the road, as I got to drive too and from the track also in the Portofino so was able to test it on road in dry.
Steering is not as good, lighter, not much sense of feel, but very direct, but that is hydraulic rack versus an electric rack for you, 458 is hydraulic and as such its steering feels better weighted, more feel, more connection and sharper in comparison.
Driving the Portofino to me felt like driving my F-Type SVR, it felt big, heavier and not as direct or connected but savage quick and rather effortless to drive, it hides speed and you want to push it.
In short, awesome GT car, even better convertible sports car, but not special, its lost the noise / sound, its lost that Ferrari feeling as the 458 if you jack the systems to max and you drive it beyond 5/10th's you feel like your driving a race car, something truly special that is also so capable on the road and can be relaxed to cruise to an acceptable standard, even more so if you specify a 458 with comfort seats, etc.
The 458 bucket seats don't have much padding and after 2-3hrs there is a little lower back pain requiring a get out, which is normally the case anyway as it will always want more fuel.
To me the 458 feels truly special!
The Portofino though fantastic just did not feel so special, my girlfriend absolutely loved it, then we got back in the 458 and was like I thought the Portofino sounded awesome with roof down, but your 458 puts it to shame, just imagine a Spyder version.
Anyway a picture of some of the Portofino's:
The event as a whole was awesome, the service from Ferreri and their staff nothing short of excellent, incredible hotel room at Fairmont St. Andrews, fantastic breakfast, lunch and dinner along with all the booze you want to drink, all in all superb and even better FREE.
So after taking a coastal walk in St. Andrews on Friday, we got in the 458 and headed towards Loch Ness via the old military road and some other roads which were nothing short of insane with practically no traffic. We stayed in a cabin for Friday night, which the Mrs. absolutely loved and grabbed some fish and chips from local chip shop along with some treats and wine from local super market.
We then left Loch Ness and drove to Mallaig and then back down to Ayr where we stayed in a hotel near the beach, taking as many coastal routes and fun roads as possible, Then Sunday we made the journey home, again take the more fun routes until eventually having to join the M6, again the return trip was effortless.
Here are some more pictures:
So drove up too St. Andrews early Thursday morning, lots of rain but no traffic issues so arrived for midday, to be greeted, fed lunch and then head out in the Portofino for a drive on Scottish roads in the wet. For a RWD front-engine setup traction is remarkable, they were all fitted with Michelin MP4S which of course helps.
Ferrari state the 3.9l turbocharged engine is turbo lag free and has that Ferrari sound, though it is close, the engine is not lag free and though the sound is good, its not a patch on the 458, but albeit a lot better than say a 570S and with a lot less turbo lag. Traction was good, forget 1st gear in the wet, but 2nd gear if you modulate low down was able to put most the power down in 2nd in the wet, 3rd gear was rarely an issue. 4th gear feels so good as you get 100% torque as Ferrari limit torque in the first three gears for traction reasons.
With 600HP and a lot more torque, the car certainly feels quicker than my 458 (turbo torque), but the performance figures are more less identical with the 458 at 10.4s for 0-124mph and the Portofino at 10.8's for the same sprint.
On a dry track, which was the second day, the car had zero issues putting down all 600HP 1st gear upwards and it feels mighty fast out corners, again due to turbo torque, though you seem to be in gears quite a while, longer geared and does not rev as fast as 458.
To try and sum it up, the Portofino is a damn fine car, its a lot more GT car than the 458, but at the same time it has lost that Ferrari feeling in the process, if it was not for the badge on the steering wheel, you could be driving a Mercedes AMG or BMW M car, it is a very sorted, great car and the way Ferrari can setup a chassis is simply incredible the fact the car puts all 600HP down so well in the dry on the road, as I got to drive too and from the track also in the Portofino so was able to test it on road in dry.
Steering is not as good, lighter, not much sense of feel, but very direct, but that is hydraulic rack versus an electric rack for you, 458 is hydraulic and as such its steering feels better weighted, more feel, more connection and sharper in comparison.
Driving the Portofino to me felt like driving my F-Type SVR, it felt big, heavier and not as direct or connected but savage quick and rather effortless to drive, it hides speed and you want to push it.
In short, awesome GT car, even better convertible sports car, but not special, its lost the noise / sound, its lost that Ferrari feeling as the 458 if you jack the systems to max and you drive it beyond 5/10th's you feel like your driving a race car, something truly special that is also so capable on the road and can be relaxed to cruise to an acceptable standard, even more so if you specify a 458 with comfort seats, etc.
The 458 bucket seats don't have much padding and after 2-3hrs there is a little lower back pain requiring a get out, which is normally the case anyway as it will always want more fuel.
To me the 458 feels truly special!
The Portofino though fantastic just did not feel so special, my girlfriend absolutely loved it, then we got back in the 458 and was like I thought the Portofino sounded awesome with roof down, but your 458 puts it to shame, just imagine a Spyder version.
Anyway a picture of some of the Portofino's:
The event as a whole was awesome, the service from Ferreri and their staff nothing short of excellent, incredible hotel room at Fairmont St. Andrews, fantastic breakfast, lunch and dinner along with all the booze you want to drink, all in all superb and even better FREE.
So after taking a coastal walk in St. Andrews on Friday, we got in the 458 and headed towards Loch Ness via the old military road and some other roads which were nothing short of insane with practically no traffic. We stayed in a cabin for Friday night, which the Mrs. absolutely loved and grabbed some fish and chips from local chip shop along with some treats and wine from local super market.
We then left Loch Ness and drove to Mallaig and then back down to Ayr where we stayed in a hotel near the beach, taking as many coastal routes and fun roads as possible, Then Sunday we made the journey home, again take the more fun routes until eventually having to join the M6, again the return trip was effortless.
Here are some more pictures:
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