Everyday Supercar: The Engineer drives the Ferrari Portofino

Enzo Ferrari supposedly once said: “I don’t make cars. I make engines.” Whether or not he ever uttered those words is open to debate. And there’s no doubt that Ferrari has been responsible for some exceptionally clever chassis technology over the years too. But when the 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8 in the Ferrari Portofino fills its lungs you can’t help wondering if there’s still an element of truth in that statement.

The V8s from this family – which also includes those found in the F8 Tributo and the GTC4Lusso T – have been voted International Engine of The Year no less than four times in a row. At 600PS (592bhp in old money) the variant in the Portofino is the least-powerful engine in the range. And yet the sledgehammer blow that it delivers in any gear and at almost any speed still puts the ‘baby’ Ferrari firmly into supercar territory.

Underneath those iconic red cam covers lurks what looks suspiciously like a race engine. It uses a flat-plane crankshaft to reduce rotational inertia and improve scavenging, its bore-to-stroke ratio of 86.5 x 82mm is notably undersquare and there’s a dry sump lubrication system. Instead of the ‘hot vee’ layout used on a lot of modern road cars, its exhaust ports remain on the outside of the cylinder heads, with the turbochargers mounted low down to reduce the centre of gravity height. Ferrari says it tried both configurations and found this delivered lower back pressure, as well as favourable packaging.