What's the difference?
Forget California! Ferrari is an Italian brand, so when the time came for the marque to redo its entry-level model - as well as rename it - the geographical tack was at last rightfully placed in its home country.
Enter the all-new Ferrari Portofino 2019 model.
If you’ve travelled the Italian coast, you might know Portofino. It’s located on the picturesque Italian Riviera at the edge of the Ligurian Sea, between Cinque Terre and Genoa, and it’s known for attracting wealth and celebrity to its exclusive shoreline.
It’s gorgeous, classic, timeless; all terms also suitable for this new convertible model, which looks so much better than the California did. And, quite truthfully, it looks more Italian, which is important for this macchina, a true auto sportivo italiana.
Even on its Australian swansong outing, the incredible R35 GT-R continues to perform beyond expectations.
Released in late 2021, the final batch of specials spearheaded by the T-spec in regular GT-R and SV in flagship Nismo guises sold out quickly and are already commanding twice and even thrice their recommended retail prices in private hands.
Nobody ought to be surprised. From its glitzy 2007 Tokyo Motor Show debut (on the eve of a global recession at that), the GT-R has been nothing less than an automotive force of nature, moving with calamitous calm to the beat of its own twin-turbo and all-wheel-drive thrum, like nothing else matters. The R35 has seen off countless assassins in its time, including the Lexus LFA and Honda NSX II.
Some 15 years later, this is what a GT-R in T-spec trim feels like in 2022.
The overall score doesn’t necessarily reflect how good this car is, but that’s because we have to factor in safety kit and equipment. Those things matter, sure. But if you really want a Ferrari Portofino, you’ll probably read the drive impressions and look at the photos, both of which should be enough to push you over the line if you’re not quite there yet.
The Ferrari Portofino 2019 model is not just bellissimo to look at, it’s also a more Italian offering. And that’s buonissimo.Â
The GT-R of the famous R32 era was a direct response to immortals like the Audi Ur Quattro and Porsche 959 that preceded it in the 1980s.
But the Nissan’s true gift since then is that it has evolved over successive generations, to serve as a glimpse of what these long-discontinued European supercars might be like if they, too, were allowed ongoing development, rather than dropped.
As such, the last R35 GT-R as we know it in Australia is far from disadvantaged, even 15 years on from launch, because it was devised and developed outside of the usual constraints and compromises of mere mass production sports cars.
In 2022, then, the Nissan GT-R remains timeless and transcendental. It’s still an incredibly moving and thrilling driving experience… if you can get hold of one.