Ferrari Portofino M 2022 Review

Performance, presence and exclusivity – it’s the golden trifecta for exotic sports car enthusiasts. It’s also an apt descriptor for Ferrari’s latest drop-top, the Ferrari Portofino M.

Ferrari has taken its entry-level Portofino convertible – which spawned the equivalent Ferrari Roma coupe – and added more performance along with mild updates on a vehicle that dates back as far as 2008 with the California, but has been known as Portofino since 2017.

The M stands for Modificata, a designation last used on the 456M in the early noughties.

The Ferrari Portofino M goes head-to-head with other top-end drop-tops including the Aston Martin Vantage Roadster, Mercedes-AMG GT C Roadster and the venerable Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet.

Does the elevated price, power and presence make for a happy marriage? Let’s find out.

We agree the Ferrari Portofino’s sticker price of $429,888 plus on-road costs ($31K more than the standard $398,888 Portofino) is hardly what you’d call obtainable.

Even less so when, like our particular test car, it’s dripping with tens of thousands of dollars in options that balloon its price to $563,489 before ORCs.

For reference, that’s more than Ferrari’s mid-engined screamer, the F8 Tributo << /ferrari-f8-tributo-2020-review-123081/>>.

Of course, optional extras are de rigueur at this end of the market – so it seems loosely within reason that Ferrari can command $20,000 for Rosso Red paint and $12,500 for electric seats.

But an extra $14,500 for an ADAS suite that includes autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring and other safety systems that are standard on many sub-$20,000 cars is a bit rich.

Standard features do include LED headlights and tail-lights, 20-inch alloy wheels, front and rear parking sensors, a reversing camera, dual-zone climate control, keyless entry and start, auto-dimming rear-view mirror and a trickle charger.

Of course there’s also a folding hard-top roof that can be stowed in just 14 seconds at speeds up to 50km/h.

Visually, the Portofino M received modest tweaks compared with the middle-aged Portofino, including front wheel-arch extractors, fresh aluminium slats in the grille and a tweaked rear bumper with a redesigned rear diffuser that can now be specified in full carbon-fibre.

Inside, both the cabin and infotainment system carry over unchanged for 2022 – meaning a 10.25-inch infotainment touch-screen with navigation.

The Ferrari Portofino has not been independently crash-tested, in line with other vehicles of this ilk.

As for aftersales care, the Portofino M is backed by a seven-year warranty and seven years of complimentary servicing, spaced across 20,000km/12-month intervals.

The headline news here is that the upgraded Ferrari Portofino M receives an all-new eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission from the SF90 hypercar, plus an updated version of the 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8 that now produces 456kW – 14kW more than before.

Peak torque of 760Nm remains the same, but the new eight-speed transmission features shorter gearing, maximising in-gear acceleration.

Perhaps the best gauge for progress is the additional 117kW/275Nm the Portofino M boasts over the original California of 2008.

Against the clock, the Portofino M is claimed to hit 100km/h from standstill in 3.45 seconds – making it 0.5sec quicker than the standard Portofino – but engineers admit that time is 'grip-limited' and that the second-quicker 0-200km/h time of 9.8sec is more representative of the improved acceleration.

Some of the increased performance is said to come courtesy of weight-savings from the new eight-speed transmission that's claimed to be 20 per cent smaller, despite the extra cog, and capable of handling 35 per cent more torque.

Ferrari engineers have purportedly managed to offset power losses due to a new particulate filter by installing a pair of new camshafts and a new sensor in the turbo.

Finally, a new exhaust has been introduced to provide a soundtrack that "in some ways" is better than before, says Ferrari.

The software governing both the engine and transmission has also been developed in-house, promising improvements on both fronts.

There’s also a fifth Manettino setting called Race, while the Side-Slip control is said to allow the driver to take the Portofino M convertible right up to its limits safely.

Elsewhere, the chassis is largely carried over from the Portofino. Carbon-ceramic brakes and quality Michelin rubber go some way in justifying the price premium the Portofino M charges over like-minded convertibles.

Our test drive in the new Ferrari Portofino M took in a scenic 150km loop to the north-west of Sydney – nothing overly fast, but a good chance to gauge the M’s boulevard bruiser credentials.

Unsurprisingly, the M still stands up strongly as a touring machine, thanks to some tangible improvements in comparison to the donor Portofino.

Before we get to those, our immediate impression is that the M seems its age cosmetically, especially in the presence of the more modern and arguably more majestic Ferrari Roma, which slots in at similar money.

Slipping into the low-slung driver’s seat, the Portofino M certainly cossets its occupants with quality furnishings and contact points, plus a clear attention to detail – yet its infotainment systems, centre fascia and general presentation almost feel a generation behind.

The lush soft tan leather is nice, yes, but there’s no sign of the equivalent coupe’s minimalist switchgear layouts, swish 16.0-inch virtual instrument cluster and 8.4-inch portrait-style touch-screen atop the centre console. And don’t get us started on the plastic-feeling knobs and air-vents.

To a casual observer, however, there’s enough tinsel on hand to impart a strong sense of occasion, with aluminium foot pedals, lashings of carbon-fibre and a chunky steering wheel all playing their part.

Then you depress the starter button and semantics quickly ease into the back of your mind.

That’s because for a front-engined drop-top Ferrari, the Portofino M is hardly shy on performance. It’s just not bristling with it.

For one, the engine is equally capable of schlepping around the ’burbs or pursuing high-speed jaunts. You can comfortably reach top gear at touring speeds with the top down, when there’s minimal buffeting and you can still hear birds chirping in the trees.

Yet with a quick flick of the Manettino to Race, the Portofino M channels a much angrier, more decisive character that is punctuated by whip-like gearshifts, an explosive mid-range and an inherent expediency in climbing to its 7500rpm cut-out.

In fact, so fast is the climb to redline that you occasionally feel as though you’ve skipped the audible crescendo. But this is a common trait in turbocharged vehicles developed amid an increasingly sound-sensitive legislative environment.

An electronically-controlled limited-slip rear differential ensures the Portofino M plies down its power clinically, while quick-witted Side-Slip electronics mean the driver can march on in the knowledge they’ve got a handy safety net at their disposal should things turn awry.

Dynamically, the M responds confidently to changes in direction, with adequate grip and a sharp steering rack. There’s a nice connection to the road, but the wheel is occasionally beset with some unwanted feedback.

Similarly, the Portofino M’s body is occasionally afflicted with scuttle-shake on rougher touring roads and harsher thuds over broken bitumen – owed in part to its open structure.

Yet on an undulating piece of winding bitumen it still manages to deliver a satisfying open-top experience, even if it lacks the outright polish of topless tourers like the brilliant Porsche 911 Cabriolet.

The other side of the Portofino M equation is that the additional performance hasn’t affected comfort. You can easily stow the top back in place and bask in comfortable leather seats for longer drives.

A largely compliant ride and moderate cabin acoustics help facilitate open-road comfort, while the gearbox eagerly pushes for higher ratios in search of fuel efficiency.

The rear seats can’t quite match the long journey amenity up front; they’re better suited to stowing a soft bag – which is par for the course in this category.

However, our particular test car suffered its share of cabin creaks, while the gearbox is prone to some low-speed lurchiness.

It would be unfair to tag the Ferrari Portofino M as the poser’s prancing horse – because the reality is it is much more than that.

But in the presence of the superior and newer-feeling Roma, the M feels its age and lacks the dynamic polish many prospective Ferrari customers might rightly expect.

Otherwise, the Ferrari Portofino M ticks all of the performance, presence and exclusivity boxes.

How much does the 2022 Ferrari Portofino M cost?
Price: $429,888 plus on-road costs
Available: Now
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8 petrol
Output: 456kW/430Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 11.3L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 256g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested