Used Portofino options

[chuds285]

Hi all

I currently own a 2021 DB11 and I’m strongly considering the Portofino as a replacement.

It would need to be circa 2019/20 to remain within budget so I’m hoping that you can give me some guidance on what the must have options are to help with future resale and of course to put a smile on my face each time I look at it!
I’m leaning more towards buying from a franchised dealer to get the benefit of a 2 year warranty but I’m more than happy to listen to any experiences you have had from independent as well.

I’m completely new to the wonderful Ferrari brand, but after having 6 Astons I’m really looking forward to the change.

Thanks everyone.

[Soleith]

Lovely cars, was heavily considering one before the Roma launched but went Roma instead (I'm not really a convertible guy and loved the look of the Roma). Still a "GT" but harder end of the spectrum from the Aston's your used to and IMO much nicer to look at than the various iterations of Cali.

Must haves for me would be Daytona seats, shields and carbon steering wheel with LEDs. Can't remember if lift is an option on them or not (wasn't on the Roma and didn't need it) but if so and you live in a speed bump heavy area you might want it.

Agree re franchised dealer and warranty, keep in mind it should come with a trickle charger (rebadged ctek) and be prepared to keep it plugged in.

Enjoy and let us know what you think when you test drive one!

[pete]

The Portofino is pretty well spec'd as standard, and there are no meaningful mechanical options, not even lift (which is fine - ground clearance is ample compared to something like a GT3 or even a 488). Magneride suspension is standard in the UK, as is cruise control, nav, bluetooth, tracker, etc. All the main options are comfort or cosmetic related, so very much personal choice. e.g....

• Seats - I think full electric adjustable and heated seats were standard in the UK, with ventilated seats an option, but don't quote me on that. Stitching patterns are personal taste; I like my unfussy standard black seats with silver stitching on a grey car, but the more detailed Daytona style seats do look more special. Neck warmer vents were another option that came along just before the Porto M, but reviews aren't that impressed with them. Folding rear seat backrests seem to have been standard on UK cars, but aren't actually very useful, unless you want to carry skis; the hatch from the boot to the interior is much smaller than the backrests themselves!

• Media etc - Apple CarPlay wasn't standard, and there are no factory updates to the original nav, so worth searching out a car with this spec'd as it's useful future proofing. Note Android Auto wasn't even an option until just before the Portofino M was released. Similarly I like in-car audio, and found the standard sound was terrible. The JBL high power hifi is better, although still not great. The passenger display is a gimmick rather than useful, as they have the full nav/media display a few inches to the right, unlike on something like an 812 with no central display.

• Carbon - the carbon wheel with shift lights is near essential for resale, and to make the car feel like a modern Ferrari. Otherwise there is a *lot* of black plastic on the exterior and silver plastic on the interior which you can replace with carbon. Personal choice; mine has almost every carbon option except the full rear diffuser, which would have cost the original buyer a load of money, and made almost no difference to the price 4 years down the line!

• Exterior - Forged, polished wheels are nice, but a pain if you curb them. Calipers can be optionally a range of colours, standard are black (I think). Sports exhaust is just different exhaust tips, nothing more. You can have a contrasting black roof and A pilars from the factory, which looks good with some colours, but again is all personal choice. Shields seem to be essential for resale, but also seem to be effectively standard in the UK market

• Cameras etc - parking cameras front and/or rear are optional and very useful, although parking sensors are standard. Later cars and Porto M had the option of surround cameras including cameras on the bottoms of the mirrors. Full ADAS driving assistance with cruise, lane departure warning etc is rare, much more common on the Porto M. Adaptive headlights are a common option, but aren't the latest full-matrix style; they just adjust for speed and cornering.

This was all still fresh in my mind from comparing lots of cars before I bought mine last October. The useful thing is to look for the options plaque under the boot lid, which most ads will helpfully include a photograph of. It shows you exactly what was on the car when it was built, and the info is out there on Ferrarichat and other online sources on what all the option codes mean.

Good luck with the search, you won't regret it!

[chuds285]

Hi Soleith and Pete

Thank you both for the fantastic advice and the detailed list of U.K. std equipment and options.

The cars I have seen advertised which have attracted my interest have the carbon steering wheel and led, shields and magneride, so this is great information.

It’s pleasing to see that a lot of original purchasers have spent a small fortune on factory options!

Im really looking forward to the search and becoming an owner, it’s going to be an early retirement present to myself (and the wife), we live in the Lake District so the roads are perfect for roof down fun……when the weather allows of course lol.

[Soleith]

Couple of good points from Pete that I forgot to pick up on.

Surround view - absolutely essential IMO if you ever plan to park in any kind of multi-storey car park. Had them on my Roma and they saved my wheels many a time.

Upgraded JBL stereo system, also essential. Not amazing but the standard system is pretty atrocious if you like music.

[belfry]

I have a carbon LED steering wheel on my car and I find that it’s way too bright in the dark. When pressing on at night, I find that the lights on the steering wheel are right in my eye line and dazzle me just when i need a very clear view of the road!
I would gladly buy a car without this specced. Your choice depends on whether you are choosing a spec for yourself and your driving, or for the next purchaser.

[willy wombat]

I agree that the passenger display is unnecessary. It’s the only option on my Portofino that I regret specifying as it’s a waste of money and, IIRC, cost something like £2k.

[Soleith]

belfry said:

I have a carbon LED steering wheel on my car and I find that it’s way too bright in the dark. When pressing on at night, I find that the lights on the steering wheel are right in my eye line and dazzle me just when i need a very clear view of the road!
I would gladly buy a car without this specced. Your choice depends on whether you are choosing a spec for yourself and your driving, or for the next purchaser.

It depends a bit if most of your driving is in the dark. On the F12 I find them ok in the dark but in the Roma I disabled them at night. Have you tried turning yours off Belfry? Not sure if it's possible on all cars but assumed it would be.

[pete]

Soleith said:

It depends a bit if most of your driving is in the dark.

It’s funny, your comment made me realise I’ve only done one long motorway trip at night, so not a lot of shift light action going on. I’m going to check how easy they are to turn off now, for when they inevitably blind me at night :-)

I agree you shouldn’t fall into the trap of spec’ing a car for the next owner (having personally spec’d a Cayenne in Doom Blue without the chrome deleted!), but it’s useful to know what missing options might be a good bargaining lever.

[Soleith]

pete said:

It’s funny, your comment made me realise I’ve only done one long motorway trip at night, so not a lot of shift light action going on. I’m going to check how easy they are to turn off now, for when they inevitably blind me at night :-)

I agree you shouldn’t fall into the trap of spec’ing a car for the next owner (having personally spec’d a Cayenne in Doom Blue without the chrome deleted!), but it’s useful to know what missing options might be a good bargaining lever.

I think they tend not to kick in on Ferrari's until maybe 4k rpm? so motorway stuff had no issue with and tbh at night i tend to go easy anyway on the loud pedal.

But actually I really like having them for "energetic" driving during the day as I do find the peripheral low vision gives a visual clue on when to change as well as audio from the sound of the engine which I find less accurate (perhaps my hearing is st?!)

Now that I've had them, I wouldn't want to do without them in a "fun" car if I had the option.

[chuds285]

Thanks everyone, some great advice and very much appreciated.

I will keep you all posted!

[andyr]

belfry said:

I have a carbon LED steering wheel on my car and I find that it’s way too bright in the dark. When pressing on at night, I find that the lights on the steering wheel are right in my eye line and dazzle me just when i need a very clear view of the road!
I would gladly buy a car without this specced. Your choice depends on whether you are choosing a spec for yourself and your driving, or for the next purchaser.

I’m sure I saw an option on my 458 to turn the leds off. Must be the same on the Portofino ? It’s somewhere in the settings.