Saban Snags Some New Wheels
Last year, the fearless leader of the Crimson Tide, Nick Saban, entered into a partnership with a group of investors to open a Ferrari dealership in Nashville, Tenn. Now, the perennial pilot of Mercedes-Benz vehicles has opted to park a prancing horse outside of Tuscaloosa National Airport instead of his usual ride.
The automobile in question is a Ferrari F164, also known as the Portofino. The Portofino was released in 2017 as the successor to the California T and is also a V8 powered grand touring class vehicle.
The twin-turbo charged 4 liter V8 motor puts 592 horsepower to the ground via a seven-speed dual clutch automatic transmission. The 4 liters of displacement might seem small for an eight cylinder engine by American standards, but European V8s have historically made up for the displacement discrepancies by revving substantially higher than American V8s.
The F164 is easy to mistake for the 812 GTS, but the striking difference is that the 812 features two tail lights on each side rather than one. The side profiles are nearly identical, even down to the door handles and locks.
The Portofino does have a high performance optional package known as the Portofino M, which added 20 horsepower and some extra garnishment to the vehicle.
Even without the M package, the Portofino, like any Ferrari, is incredibly rare. As of 2021, just 4,240 Portofino's have been produced. For perspective, Toyota made three times that many Corollas just in January of 2023.
Will Ferraris become the new mainstay of Saban's driveway and parking spaces over his usual spacious Mercedes? That's yet to be seen, but one could probably expect to hear more Italian vehicles cruising through campus in the future with the investment in Prancing Horse of Nashville.