Only three years have passed since Ferrari replaced the California T with the new and improved Ferrari Portofino And the grand tourer is already getting an update. It’s more than just the typical nip and tuck as there are some significant changes underneath the discreetly revised Italian sheet metal. The chief of these novelties is a newly developed eight-speed, dual-clutch automatic transmission.
The new and improved Ferrari Portofino maintains its otherwise alluring overall shape and proportions as a four-seat grand tourer, as well as its folding hardtop that can be raised or lowered in 15 seconds at speeds up to 25 mph.
The M added to the new Portofino’s name stands for modification—Italian for modified—which Ferrari has occasionally employed over the years to denote certain models that bring significant technological upgrades. For the New Ferrari Portofino M, those include new camshaft profiles and other tuning tweaks to its front-mounted twin-turbo 3.9-liter V-8. The output is now a Roma-matching 612 horsepower, up from the original Portofino’s 591, with the exhaust gases flowing through a supposedly louder set of active pipes that do away with the previous car’s rear silencers—the better to compensate for the muffling effect of the new gasoline particulate filter.
It’s the first time a convertible Ferrari has used an eight-speed gearbox, a unit that has a 20-percent smaller clutch module and 35 percent higher torque delivery than the transmission it replaces. It’s a move we should’ve seen coming considering the Roma – essentially a coupe version of the Portofino – uses the same DCT.
We can say the same thing about the bump in output for the twin-turbo 3.9-liter V8, now making an additional 20 hp in the Portofino M (Modificata). The revised cabrio produces a Roma-matching 612 horsepower (456 kilowatts) and 561 pound-feet (760 Newton-meters), with the torque amount being carried over from the non-M model.
A rear-mounted dual-clutch automatic transmission harnesses the engine’s 561 lb-ft of torque with eight speeds instead of the previous seven. As before, Ferrari electronically limits the engine’s torque in lower gears, with the full amount of twist only coming in seventh and eighth. Compared to the transmission’s application in the SF90 Stradale, Ferrari says the M’s taller ratios in higher gears plus revisions to its programming improve both the Portofino’s fuel efficiency and smoothness when cruising around town.
The new and improved Ferrari Portofino’s interior remains familiar and highly attractive. It’s also properly high-tech with its 10.3-inch center touchscreen, plus twin TFT displays flanking the center analog tachometer and an available 7.0-inch touchscreen for the front passenger to fiddle with
Ferrari showcases Portofino Modificata in online reveal, the Portofino M comes with some visual changes to lend the hardtop convertible a more aggressive look, according to the peeps from Maranello. Inside, there’s a Manettino dial with five positions, including a new Race mode that “focuses mainly on maximizing driving pleasure and fun behind the wheel.” To enhance the car’s GT nature, Ferrari is offering new optional features, including ventilated and heated seats along with a variety of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).
The Portofino M will be followed by the end of the year by another world debut promised by Ferrari. The identity of the model has not been disclosed, but it could be an amped-up variant of the 812 Superfast considering we’ve recently seen plenty of spy shots with prototypes testing.
