Dilemma - Portofino vs mid-engine V8 Ferrari

Alright,

I know i've made some posts here talking about the Portofino, but also about how i've been wanting a mid-engine Ferrari.

So here's my dilemma. There are some quite nice specced low ish mileage Portofino's out on the market now for a good bit under 200k. It's basically in my current affordable range right now.

Meanwhile 458 Italia's are going up in price and 488 GTBs, while dropping, are still in the 1 - 2 year out mark.

So the question is, do i buy a Portofino now, enjoy Ferrari ownership and then keep saving for a mid-engine supercar, or do i just wait the extra year or two and hope prices arent too insane? My ideal Ferrari is a 458 Italia, however finding one in the spec i want seems to be harder and harder.

With the Portofino, because it's more daily centric, i could basically daily the car. Now this does also mean i'll be depreciating the car quite a bit more than if it was something that sat in my garage. But i also feel like NOT daily driving the Portofino is not giving it the love it deserves.

The reason why the 458/488 are 1- 2 years out, is because i'd also need a daily drive. While i currently daily a 718 Boxster GTS, i've owned 2, 2-seater sports cars before at the same time, and practicality wise it forced my wife to use her car more than i personally would have liked. And so to help pull my own weight i'd be trading in the Porsche for a more practical daily driver. However that is easily an added 30-40k extra cost on top of what is already an expensive car.

So...do i enjoy a ferrari now (and maybe even fall in love with it so much i keep it forever?), or do i stick with what i got and wait for the one i really want?

What would you guys do? I know they are totally different cars.

 

I appreciate the response. So it sounds like you made a similar decision and bought yourself a Cali just to experience Ferrari ownership until the day comes where you can buy a 812 GTS? How has Cali ownership been? I do really appreciate this response because a lot of people i've talked to in person says i should just wait for the one i want. But i fear with prices going up, and it already being such an old car, i may never find the one i want. I think i'd be happy with a 488 GTB as an alternative, but as stated above, its already 30k more expensive purely as i'd want to make sure i have a daily driver to go along with it.

 

I love this energy, and it's a compelling argument. The problem for me is that neither of these cars get my heart pumping at all. The 360 out of the two would be the one i would get, but i just dont really like the California front end. I do really like what the Portofino looks like though which is why its a big consideration for me.

 

What was the purchase process like and did you buy it from a dealership or private sale? I have considered an out of country buy but wasnt sure how feasible that really was. If i could get a Portofino M for the price of a Portofino that might be compelling enough to make me just go that route.

 

I'll look into this! Thank you! The red one caught my eye and at 220k US for pretty low miles and a very high spec, thats quite compelling assuming the other fees arent too bad.

 

I appreciate you responding and i think you make alot of good points here. I am definetly not in the boat of people who can drop 200k at the drop of a hat. I do well for myself, but the majority of money i make i put towards investments and savings and i put aside a little for myself every month for car goals. yes i could just pull from my investments and just buy the perfect spec 458 that i want at 270k....but that personally just doesnt sound smart to me. I'd rather keep that money making money and just pretend like i'm still only making 50k a year...just the difference is all that goes to fun stuff like trips, nice restaurants and cars.

So yes, on a strict budget, the bridging option is probably not the smartest. I also generally dont really like to have more than one car at a time unless i feel like it's necessary. My last daily driver before my BGTS was a 718 GT4. I dont have that anymore because it ended up being a lemon so Porsche bought it back after 7 months of love hate ownership. That kinda why i made the comment about feeling like it would be waste for me NOT to daily drive the Portofino. The car itself is designed around daily drivability and theres something about it that seems to beg to be taken out just for groceries or dinner only for me to go balls out during the weekends. Very much how i feel about my current Porsche. It's just such a good and capable daily, it would feel like a waste letting it sit in the garage waiting for a good sunny weekend.

That being said the 458 and 488 (to me) are different beasts entirely. They remind me more of my track modded S2000. Could i daily it? Sure. Do i really want to? Not really. but taking it out on the backroads on the weekends? Pure bliss. And i think thats why i feel the need to just grab a cheap car to put around in till the weekend rolls around.

I understand what you are saying about making sure i drive one first, and honestly the reason i didnt pull the trigger on one back in December was because i wasnt able to test drive it due to it being on consignment and the place i was at being a bit stuck up about it. I have driven a 488 and i enjoyed that but overall i prefer NA engines and the 458 for me feels like exactly what i want in a supercar.

Appreciate you taking the time to write out your answer. And i think for a large part i agree. I do really like the Portofino, i think its a fantastic car, but i think maybe my dilemma is more wrestling with the idea of what Ferrari ownership is like in my head vs what it might actually be like. Who knows, theres a chance the Portofino blows me away and its my favorite car ever.

 

Would you say you prefer the Portofin over the McLaren? McLaren was a huge consideration for me as i love the 570S (drove one on track a few years ago) and they are very cheap right now, but the lack of dealer support and all the bespoke parts is kinda scaring me away.

 

I think for me what i ultimately look for in a car is a specific driving experience. I LOVE NA engines. I love feeling the need to rev the car out in order to extract the most out of it. My favorite cars in my car history have all been NA cars (S2000, BRZ, GT4, Miata, GTS) with the single outlier being the Veloster N. Hyundai did some magic with that car.
So for me, 0-60, laptimes, and what most people see on paper are things that mean the least to me. I've driven the 488 GTB already, and for me the main standout of that car was the transmission, and the noises that it made as well as the way it felt to drive. Things just worked the way i imagined it would and it was very satisfying albeit a bit numb feeling. I'm sure i'll love the Portofino. However for me theres something that hits different with a mid-engine 2 seater sports car vs a front mid-engine 4 seat GT car. I'll gladly take something slower that really needs to be worked to extract the "juice" out of it. And thats where the 458 sits for me between the two. I've only recently considered the 488 as prices are dropping and at this point there are a lot of 488 with some really nice specs for the same or less than a 458 thats less highly optioned.

I know the M is a big step up from the non M Portofino, however if i was going to spend that kind of money i'd just use it on a 458 and call it a day. I do really like the Portofino, and i'll be test driving one in a few weeks so who knows, maybe i'll fall in love. But i also want to make sure that if i do choose the portofino, its going to give me the driving experience that i'm looking for.

 

Thats been my main concern about McLaren ownership as well and not something i want to deal with. For the Portofino i assume it's been pretty reliable thus far? Also what are your thoughts on the exhaust tone? For me a big part of Ferrari ownership has been the aural experience and of the Ferrari's that i have driven (488, 296, Purosangue) the exhaust note has been one of my favorite parts. Would you say thats the same for the Portofino? Strangely enough online in videos, the F8 and Portofino sound similar, but a lot of people have complained about the sound of the F8. I know the Portofino is probably a bit more quiet than the other 2 cars i'm looking at, but i am still curious if it gives people the same auditory experience. My dealership did say they could install either a Capristo exhaust or a valve controller for me if i bought from them, and so i might do the valve controller if i decide to get the car.