Ferrari Portofino set to replace California T

The California T's replacement is (almost) here, and it's called the Ferrari Portofino. Ferrari has named its new convertible GT car, and its launch colour, Rosso Portofino, after "one of Italy's most beautiful towns." While the overall shape and silhouette of the car resembles the Ferrari California T, there are several design elements that make the car look a lot sharper. The boomerang-shaped headlights flanked by air intakes and the new bumper for instance make the car look more aggressive. But those air intakes aren't just for show. They feed air into the front wheel arch and out the side to reduce drag. The curves and cuts along the side and the rear seem to be a lot sharper too.

The interior of the Ferrari Portofino gets a couple of changes to the layout, and boasts new features like a 10.2-inch touchscreen infotainment unit, 18-way electrically adjustable seats and a new wind deflector which reduces airflow inside the cabin by 30 per cent when the roof is down.

But moving to the more interesting bit, the Ferrari Portofino continues to run the 3.9-litre turbo-charged V8 petrol we saw in the California T. However, several components including the pistons, con-rods and the intake system are new. It also gets a new one-piece-cast exhaust header, which reduces losses to ensure good throttle response and almost no turbo lag. As a result of all this, the Ferrari Portofino produces 600PS of power (up from 560PS) at 7,500rpm and 760Nm of torque (up from 755Nm) from 3,000-5,250rpm.

The Ferrari Portofino uses an all-new aluminium chassis, which "features a significant weight saving over the California T." Ferrari has also come up with new production technologies which result in reduction of weight and an increase torsional rigidity. The result of all this is a 0-100kmph time of 3.5 seconds, which is 0.1 seconds quicker than the California T.

Also new in the Ferrari Portofino is Ferrari's third generation electronic rear differential (E-Diff3), which is integrated with F1-Trac, Ferrari's traction control system, and a new electrically assisted power steering. This allowed engineers to reduce the steering ratio, making it more responsive without compromising on stability. The magnetorheological damping system (SCM-E) has been updated too, for better dynamic ability and improved ride quality.

The Ferrari Portofino will be showcased at the upcoming 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show.

Here is our image gallery of the new Portofino