Portofino

Make
Ferrari
Segment
Compact

Without delving too deep into politics and economics, it is fairly easy to gauge how well the wealthiest portion of the population is performing based on the sales of ultra-luxury vehicles. In 2018, both McLaren and Lamborghini reached record sales numbers despite only offering a handful of models. Lamborghini's magical 2018 sales year should only improve in 2019 with a full year of sales for the Urus SUV.

Although Ferrari's Purosangue SUV is still a number of years away, the Italian brand doesn't seem to be struggling for sales volume. After a strong sales year in 2018 benefiting from popular V12 models, Ferrari is already off to a hot start in 2019 with its V8 cars.

Ferrari posted a 14% increase in first-quarter earnings compared to 2018, driven mostly by strong sales of the "entry-level" Portofino. Even though the Portofino carries a hefty base price of over $200,000, it is actually the least expensive model in the Ferrari range and a strong entry point into the brand. Ferrari has already delivered 2,610 cars in 2019, which is more than the 2,128 cars delivered during the same period in 2018 (a 23% increase). In the Americas, Ferrari saw a 27% increase in sales, which pales in comparison to the 79% increase in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

Ferrari attributes the success to a 30.6% increase in sales of its V8-powered models, while V12 models also saw a small increase of 4.1%. The Portofino must have sold tremendously well in 2019 because it had to offset the slowing sales of the 488 models, which are now reaching the end of their product lifecycle. Arrivals of the 488 Pista and 488 Pista Spider should help boost sales before the F8 Tributo goes on sale next year.