Feast Your Eyes On The Stunning New Ferrari Portofino

This is the replacement for the Ferrari California T, and isn’t it a looker? The Portofino, which is named after a small fishing village, obviously, is based on an all-new chassis that saves a whole load of weight – and looks way prettier with its clothes on.

Powered by a 592bhp development of the California’s turbocharged V8, it’s expected to crack 200mph courtesy of Ferrari’s odd phrasing that its top speed will be ‘over 199mph’. The new chassis is stiffer than before, while it also gets Ferrari’s E-Diff 3 electronic rear differential control. It should handle, then.

You’re looking at the first Ferrari to switch hydraulic steering for an electro-mechanical setup, which has apparently let the Italian brand quicken the steering by seven per cent without making it too twitchy for the sort of GT use that buyers will put it to.

The benchmark 0-62mph sprint will take 3.5 seconds, Ferrari says, but further details are scant beyond what we can see in the pictures. Like a lot of high-end performance cars the Portofino has vents between the front bumper and front wheel arches, which are designed to cut drag and improve air flow. The car is destined for a full reveal at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month, after which we’ll be able to tell you more.

In the meantime let’s content ourselves by absorbing every gorgeous line on the new car. Its proportions are definitely better than the California T’s, being more even overall and tighter around the rear end, where the neatly-packaged electric folding hard-top folds away. For those top-down drives there’s a wind deflector that apparently reduces the annoying air swirl around the cabin by 30 per cent.

This is one that we’re very much looking forward to at the Frankfurt Show. We’ll bring you more when we can.