Every time Ferrari presents a new model it is big news. So when Ferrari presented earlier this year the Ferrari Portofino at the Frankfurt Motorshow, all aficionados felt their hearts race. Now, the big moment arrived for the Swiss Premiere. The event took place at the prestigious Swiss Tech Convention Center – EPFL in Lausanne. A especial evening for a very especial brand. With the official start of the new luxury car, Ferrari is aiming to promote this new launch in the Swiss market.
Ferrari Portofino, a GT described with sportiness and elegance
The Ferrari Portofino is a grand touring sports car produced by the Italian manufacturer Ferrari. It is a two-door hard top convertible. The car is named after Portofino village and also replaces the California T. The Ferrari Portofino was unveiled initially in the village of Portofino in Italy with two exclusive evenings of 7 and 8 September 2017, at which Piero Ferrari, Sergio Marchionne, Sebastian Vettel and Giancarlo Fisichella were present. It was also shown at Maranello on September 9 and 10 during the Ferrari 70th Anniversary celebration.
It is the new V8 GT from Ferrari and is set to dominate its segment thanks to the perfect balance between comfort and sportiness. Ferrari has chosen a particularly evocative moniker for this exceptionally versatile drop-top car, referencing one of Italy’s most beautiful towns. Portofino is renowned for its charming tourist port and, over the years, has become internationally synonymous of elegance, sportiness and understated luxury. The launch colour of the new Ferrari has also been dedicated to this marvellous town: Rosso Portofino. The car tops at 600Hp, which is 40hp more than the previous California T. This allows the car to reach 0-60mph in less than 3.5s before attaining a maximum speed of 200mph.
The Swiss Premiere: From Maranello to Lausanne.
In order to officially launch the Ferrari Portofino in Switzerland, we were lucky to attend to the Swiss Premiere in Lausanne. The event took place at the Swiss Tech Convention Center -EPFL. There were 400 people present who celebrated the arrival of the new Ferrari in Switzerland. The audience was an interesting blend of potential buyers, automotive professionals, press and key influencers.
The event was magnificently organized and LuxuryActivist was present. Here is our main take aways from discovering the new Ferrari Portofino:
1. A true Ferrari never lies on performances
The Ferrari Portofino definitely delivers what is promised. Thanks to the extensive use of modern production technologies, all the chassis and body-in-white components have been redesigned with a consequent reduction in weight despite an increase in torsional rigidity. With almost 600hp, the car delivers a great amount of sensations. Inside the beauty, comes the beast. The Ferrari V8 Turbo does not need presentations. Awarded as engine of the year in 2016 and 2017, it truly delivers pure power. When you have a close look into the engine, we see that all aspects of the 8 cylinder structure has evolved with the adoption of new pistons and con-rods, in parallel with a new intake system model. Thanks to a very clever boost management that adjusts torque delivery, we can say that the new Ferrari Portofino reaches levels of acceleration even higher than the precedent model, yet with a low fuel consomption.
“The new Ferrari Portofino has 2 sides, one is a Fastback coupé and the other one is an elegant Spider” – Francesco Bianchi, President EMEA Ferrari.
2. Levels of high-tech, never utilized in such a car before
With the launch of Ferrari Portofino, we can see that the Italian luxury car brand has been very generous in terms of technology. The car has great improvements and some of them are unique for its category.
- Third generation of rear differential and integrated with the F1-Trac
- Electric Power Steering technology to improve responsive steering
- Uprate of the magnetorheological damping system with dual-coil technology for a even improved dynamics and superior comfort while driving.
We can see the new car has a higher sharpness than its predecessor. With this new technology pack, the Ferrari Portofino is a masterpiece in terms of driving experience.
3. Ferrari Portofino, holistically comfortable
With such a car, the main challenge is to upgrade comfort while maintaining a high-level of performance. In the Ferrari Portofino, there is a great attention to details. Some remarkable details are the following:
- An amazing infotainment system with a large 10.2″ touchscreen display.
- New comfortable air-conditioning system with top-up or down
- New steering wheel
- Electrical adjustable seats with 18 settings
- Front passenger display
- New wind deflector reducing wind in cabin by 30% and also reduces noise.
The Ferrari Portofino gathers the very best that Ferrari can offer in a V8 GT. This is bringing the entire category to a higher level or performance, comfort and style. By sitting inside the car, we feel already how our next holidays or our commuting to work would be: comfortable, easy, elegant and modern.
When sitting inside the new Ferrari Portofino we can feel the amazing manual work as a beautiful piece of craftsmanship. We feel safe, comfortable and with a tremendous crave for speed. The retractable hard-top was improved, which allows a faster opening or closing at a lower speed.
Ferrari and Switzerland, a love story
Ferrari and Switzerland were made to get together. With 6’123 cars in circulation in Switzerland last year, Ferrari is one of the most sold luxury cars in the country. Switzerland is the 5th biggest market for Ferrari, behind the US, UK, Germany and Japan. Switzerland is also the country with the highest number of Ferrari per inhabitant. So Switzerland loves Ferrari and it is not only because of the color.
Ferrari represents a certain idea of the perfect luxury car. From the precision of its engine, the important detail in design and the qualitative approach of craftsmanship, it has everything to please the Swiss customer. Obviously there are a lot of high-revenue-level individuals in Switzerland that also makes a very attractive national market for Ferrari. The Ferrari Portofino will please the Swiss customer. The California T was already a nice success in terms of sales and this new launch is capitalizing on its predecessor success and going even further in terms of performance and comfort.
With this amazing event, Ferrari made a big statement by proving that Switzerland is a very important market. By having key people from Ferrari in the room as well as a whole list of regular customers, we can feel that it was like being in a family reunion. Feel free to visit the official website for more information about Ferrari:
https://www.ferrari.com
If you join the Ferrari club, you are not just a customer, you share some of the company’s values and this invisible bond between Ferrari and its customers are the solid foundation of a tremendous heritage.
Jose Amorim
Info sourced at the Swiss Premiere in Lausanne. All content is copyrighted with no reproduction rights available. Images are for illustration purposes only. #Ferrari #FerrariPortofino
