The Origins Of The Ferrari Portofino Name

It's not just some village in Italy.

2018 Ferrari Portofino

Fabio Gemelli

By: Fabio Gemelli

Aug 24, 2017 at 2:30pm ET

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Portofino is a name that now evokes two Italian style icons: one on wheels, and another of refined tourism. One of the most beautiful villages in Italy has been chosen by the Casa di Maranello as the heir to the California T. A "wonderful resort" known around the world, for the first time in the history of the Ferrari brand, has no relevance to its origins or the company's headquarters whatsoever.

Update:

Throughout the entire the history of Ferrari, there have only been three other names of Italian locations associated with one of the marque’s famed supercars. The 550 Maranello (followed by the 575M Maranello), the 360 Modena, and the 599 GTB Fiorano. Each nomenclature was chosen by specifically by Enzo Ferrari, and was home to either a manufacturing plant or a race track. Even more interesting is that other cars with the name Portofino have already existed.

Gallery: Portofino Concept Cars

Lamborghini Portofino Concept

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Ferrari Portofino Vs California T: See The Changes Side-By-Side

The first car to bear the Portofino name was the Lamborghini Portofino concept (pictured above), presented 30 years ago at the 1987 Frankfurt Motor Show. The four-door, four-seat GT car was created by Kevin Verduyn at the Chrysler design center, then owner of the Italian marque. The Portofino name has since remained a patent of the Chrysler group, which then seemingly transferred the rights to Ferrari.

The second model to wear the Portofino nameplate was the Fiat Portofino, a concept car built by Vernagallo-Holiday and Salt in 2008, which was a recreation of a fully open beach cruiser. The Portofino name was also used by Ford as a paint color. The color, dubbed Portofino Blue, was smattered on Ford, Lincoln and Shelby vehicles throughout the late '90s and early 2000s. Land Rover also used a Portofino Red on a numbers of its vehicles.

Just for the sake of curiosity, below is a list of all the Ferrari models that used a name of Italian origin, from 1957 up until 2016.

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1957 - 250 GT Berlinetta
1962 - 250 GTO
1968 - Dino 206 GT
1969 - Dino 246 GT
1972 - Dino 246 GTS
1973 - 365/512 / 512i Berlinetta Boxer
1974 - Dino 308 GT4
1982 - 308 GTB & GTS
1982 - Mondial Quattrovalvole
1984 - Testarossa
1996 - 550 Maranello
1999 - 360 Modena
2001 - 550 Barchetta
2002 - 575M Maranello
2003 - 360 Challenge Stradale
2003 - Enzo
2004 - 612 Scaglietti
2006 - 599 GTB Fiorano
2007 - F430 Scuderia
2009 - F430 Scuderia Spider 16M
2009 - 458 Italia
2010 - SA Aperta
2013 - F12berlinetta
2013 - LaFerrari
2014 - 458 Speciale
2015 - 458 Speciale A
2016 - GTC4Lusso
2016 - LaFerrari Aperta