Ferrari Middle East - Gulf Insider

5 years ago

Review: A day out with the Ferrari Portofino M

Charlie Cooksey takes the new Ferrari GT 2+ Spider for a spin around the island… I had the pleasure to visit Euromotors, Bahrain’s official Ferrari dealership, to collect the new Portofino M. The ‘M’ stands for ‘Modificata’, which in Ferrari nomenclature refers to cars that have undergone an evolution that has boosted their performance. The Portofino M is everything a Ferrari should be: sexy, powerful, and fast. Its twin-turbo V8 churns out 612 horsepower—up from 591 in last year’s model—and it should hit 60 mph in the low-three-second range. The small back seat and trunk won’t fit much, but practicality has never been a Ferrari selling point. So how else does the new Ferrari Portofino M differ from its predecessor? Well, it has a redesigned powertrain, a new eight-speed gearbox and a five-position Manettino that includes a Race mode. The exterior is also subtly changed and looks even sportier and more aggressive than the previous model, with a new design of the front of the car – the bumpers in particular. Usually, I prefer my Ferraris in traditional red, but I must admit to being strongly drawn to the unique blue/grey paintwork of this particular car. Ferrari claims that the new model delivers both superior handling […]

5 years ago

If La dolce vita were a car, it would be the… Ferrari Roma

Review by Charlie Cooksey I remember attending the EuroMotors launch of the new Ferrari Roma at the Bahrain International Circuit in late 2019 or early 2020 (pre-Covid days). The theme was La dolce vita (“the sweet life”), the iconic 1960 Italian movie directed by Federico Fellini that came to symbolize Italian style and attitudes for over a generation. It was a fun evening held outdoors in the Paddock area and we were treated to delicious Italian cooking, music, and there were lots of posters of Italian movie stars from long ago. Of course, the star of the night was the Roma. It was not for driving that evening, just for admiring. I remember looking forward to getting the chance to get behind the wheel, I just didn’t think it would take so long – over a year. The Roma, though understated compared to other Ferraris, is a beautiful car. I personally loved this particular car’s grey paintwork – the car I and everyone was admiring at EuroMotor’s La Dolce vita launch was this same rare colour so I’m guessing that this is the same car. So where does the Roma fit into the Ferrari family? I suppose it could be […]

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