Portofino M

Make
Ferrari
Segment
Compact

The Ferrari Portofino M may not be the cheapest Ferrari on sale (that honor just about goes to the gorgeous Roma), but it is often regarded as such. Remember, the Portofino replaced the California T, a car that Ferrari aficionados famously detested. As with the California, the Portofino M was designed to lure new customers to the brand.

Fortunately, German tuner Novitec has a solution to ensure it's not too obvious that you're 'balling on a budget' by unveiling a sexy new styling kit for the car. While others tuner things to extremes, Novitec once again proves that the world of supercar modification should be run entirely by the discreet and unassuming.

Let's start with what we can see. The Novitec design package adds naked carbon fiber components in numerous places, including the front spoiler, the two side air intakes in the front bumper, the mirror caps, the fender vents, and the air outlets in the hood. The front spoiler promises to increase downforce at the front end, but the rocker panels and rear lip spoiler are purely cosmetic.

Not that we're complaining - in tandem with forged center-lock wheels from Vossen measuring 21x9 inches in front and 22x12 inches at the rear, the car looks truly menacing without being gaudy. A set of sport springs drops the car by almost 1.4 inches, and if your car is equipped with a magnetic suspension and a hydraulic front lift system, Novitec offers a spring kit to accommodate these too.

Because Novitec does things properly, the enhanced looks are complemented by more performance. Thanks to the addition of a plug-and-play N-TRONIC module, the Novitec Portofino M gains access to new maps for fuel injection, boost pressure, and ignition control. Along with fully thermally insulated 100-cell sports catalysts, the output of the car has been increased by 83 horsepower to 694 hp. Torque has seen a jump, too, increasing from 561 lb-ft to 650. 0-62 mph is now possible in just 3.15 seconds, 124 mph arrives in 9.4 seconds, and the top speed is now an impressive 201 mph.

Pricing is not available, and the interiors are specced to clients' requests. Putting two and two together, it's clear that this won't be a cheap upgrade, and maybe you should have just forked out extra for a Ferrari F8. Then again, an F8 Spider doesn't look like this.