- Ferrari gave us an up-close look at its stunning new Roma coupe in Rome.
- The Roma takes its design inspiration from 250GT Ferraris of the La Dolce Vita period in Rome of the '50s and '60s.
- Despite its ageless appearance, it has fully modern technology and, Ferrari promises, best-in-class performance.
The Ferrari Roma is meant to evoke the La Nuova Dolce Vita,
and with stunning modern looks, a powerful turbocharged V-8 engine, and
clever performance and design tricks, a bit of the sweet life can be
yours, too, with Maranello's latest.
We're in the Eternal City, from which the Roma takes its inspiration.
Like the Ferrari Portofino, Modena, and others, it is named after a
specific place in Italy, this time its most famous city, and the
capital. And while Italy's La Dolce Vita period was the 1950s
and '60s, the Roma takes its physical inspiration from Ferraris of that
era, including the 250GT Berlinetta Lusso and the 250GT two-plus-two.
You can really see this in the sculpted hood, the grille, and the
overall profile silhouette.
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| © Ferrari |
The exterior is exceptionally sleek,
defined by clean lines, the most modern front end we've seen on a
Ferrari, including sharp full-LED adaptive headlights with a horizontal
light strip. The rear evokes muscle with haunched shoulders wrapped over
20-inch wheels—245/35 ZR20s in front, 285/35 ZR20s in rear. The
taillights are the thinnest we've seen on a Ferrari, and create an
especially sharp graphic in tandem with the two sets of dual exhaust
pipes, set to the outer corners hinting at the Roma's performance
prowess.
The mid-front engine proportions are backed up by
Ferrari's award-winning turbo V-8, good for 611 horsepower at 7500 rpm
and 561 lb-ft of torque. Power is distributed via an eight-speed DCT,
the same one that recently debuted on the SF90 Stradale, meaning it
should also be about 13 pounds lighter than the one it replaces. Ferrari
says the Roma can hit 60 mph in about 3.3 seconds (Ferrari quotes 3.4
seconds to 62 mph), and 124 mph in 9.3 seconds, with a top speed of 199
mph.
Ferrari says the Roma boasts best-in-class performance, and
it employs a few slick tools to accomplish as much. For one, the rear
windscreen has a built-in mobile spoiler that is flush within the rear
of the car but automatically deploys under hard driving to aid with
downforce. The Roma also boasts cutting-edge dynamic systems like its
Side Slip Control 6.0, with a five-position manettino
(steering-wheel-mounted switch), and the Ferrari Dynamic Enhancer, which
controls yaw angle by hydraulically adjusting brake pressure at the
calipers. This is a first on a Ferrari GT model.
Ferrari also
used new, lighter components—70 percent of the parts are new—in tandem
with new production techniques to reduce weight wherever possible. The
result is a claimed best-in-class power-to-weight ratio.
With
needing to use gasoline particulate filters, the engineers in Maranello
paid extra attention to sound of the exhaust system. Engineers
redesigned it, removed silencers, and introduced new bypass valves to
help magnify naturally produced notes.
Once you step inside, you
realize that this is a thoroughly new Ferrari, too. The interior
reflects an evolution of the dual cockpit, featuring separate driver and
passenger cells; it looks more like what we've seen on concept cars.
The HMI has been completely redesigned, the steering wheel is new, and
all of the Roma's main commands can be accessed via haptic controls on
the wheel, to allow the driver to keep their eyes on the road and hands
on the wheel.
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| © Ferrari |
A 16-inch digital cluster provides all necessary
information, and the 8.4-inch vertical touchscreen and a passenger
screen, are developed to be intuitive. A Ferrari key with "comfort
access" allows the driver to open the car with just a touch of a button
next to the new flush handle on the door. The Roma will be available
with optional advanced driving systems (ADAS) to make longer journeys—we
suspect this car will encourage them—a bit more comfortable.
The
Ferrari Roma looks like a thoroughly modern Ferrari, and a proper GT.
With its turbo V-8, slick features, and alluring design, this is one
we're eager to get our hands on.
