Top Marques with Niki Mills: Ferrari Portofino

A sporty daily drive that fits four. When it comes to Ferrari, few models can do as much as the Portofino.

Yes, it can fit two youngsters in the rear seats behind the front passengers. Yes, it has an electric hard-top roof that can be electronically lowered or raised at the push of a button to make the best use of the weather.
More importantly, with its front engine layout and longer wheelbase, it is a comfortable Ferrari that be used as a daily driver.

Introduced in 2019 as a successor to the popular Ferrari California model, the Portofino is fitted with a 3.9 Litre Twin-Turbo V8 rated up to 592 BHP which, combined with its 7 Speed Dual-Clutch gearbox, delivers its power in a refined and usable way.

A Ferrari GT model, it still looks and sounds like a Ferrari, yet is not as harsh or scary to drive as its siblings. As former Top Gear co-presenter James May said: “Of all Ferraris, the Portofino is by far the most usable, and that’s something worth considering as the years advance and settling into one of the V8 cars elicits an ever-louder sigh of relief. The poet Larkin wrote of the tyranny of ‘age, and then the only end of age’. But it’s nice to know there will always be an appropriate Ferrari to go with it.”

See it at Christchurch European, or visit www.christchurcheuropean.co.nz