Back in 2017, the Ferrari Portofino was unveiled as the new entry-level Prancing Horse to replace the California T. Put simply, the Portofino is better than its predecessor in every way. It rides on a lighter chassis, resulting in vastly improved driving dynamics, while the redesigned body looks sleeker and the 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 has been tweaked to produce 592 horsepower and 560 lb-ft of torque.

Now, the time seems right for Ferrari to start work on a refreshed Portofino. Our spies have caught Ferrari testing a mysterious prototype that could give us an early look at the updated Portofino.

The Portofino prototype has been lightly disguised with camouflage covering the front fascia. At the front, the headlights appear to be inspired by the Ferrari Roma and the front bumper could also receive some minor styling tweaks judging from the camouflage. No camouflage has been applied to the rear, however, but the styling could change as the development of the Portofino evolves in the coming months.

Reports claim the updated Portofino will utilize the same 3.9-liter twin-turbo V8 gasoline engine as the Roma. In the Roma, the V8 unit generates 612 hp and 561 lb-ft of torque. The Roma's eight-speed dual-clutch automatic, which is also shared with the Ferrari SF90 Stradale, could replace the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission found in the current Portofino.

Our spies were unable to snap any photos of the interior, but the cabin could also get some updates inspired by the Roma such as a redesigned gauge cluster and a secondary touchscreen with a vertical layout for the infotainment system.

However, the exact identity of this mystery Ferrari prototype is unknown. Our sources say the prototype was first spotted back in August 2019, so it could be an old mule for the Ferrari Roma. If, however, this is an early prototype for the Ferrari Portofino facelift, we aren't expecting the updated grand tourer to debut until early next year as 2020 has been deemed "a year of consolidation" with no new models to be revealed.