The covers have been lifted from the latest Ferrari Coupe. The Ferrari Roma packs a V8 under the front bonnet with a 2+2 setup. Designed with a simplistic, 50’s style, the Roma was revealed this evening at a Ferrari client event in Rome!
The release is not quite complete. Ferrari is teasing us with details of the powertrain and photos of the exterior. There is little else by way of detail though. A message on the company website suggests that this will be revealed at 13:30 CET tomorrow. The photos appear to be CGI renders.
Design
Despite its classic design cues, the Ferrari Roma is a modern front-engined GT car. The engine is mounted as far back as possible such that Ferrari describes it as “mid-front-engined”. It has a shorter front bonnet as a result, with short overhangs.
In contrast to some of Ferrari’s more fussy, aerodynamic designs, the Ferrari Roma gets a more minimalist design. The front features a sharp front nose with a futuristic front air intake and a prominent lip spoiler. The headlights are split by a daytime running light. The nose is extremely low, probably made possible by mounting the engine so far back.
Moving along the side. The Ferrari Roma features a side shape similar to that of the classic Ferrari 612. The resemblance is accentuated by a small circular side reflector mounted behind the front wheel. The doors get recessed door handles, similar in style to the Jaguar F-Type.
Towards the rear, a styling line crosses the entire length with narrow quad taillights. The bumper gets a set of quad tailpipes and a deep rear diffuser. All in, the design is classic and unpretentious.
Power
The detail we do have include the powertrain. It uses Ferrari’s 3.9-litre V8 power plant. Fitted with twin-turbochargers, it produces 620 hp and 760 Nm of torque. It’s enough for a 3.4 second 100 km/h sprint, a 9.3 second 200 km/h sprint and a 320 km/h top speed.
Tipping the scales at 1,472 kg, it weighs slightly more than the Aston Martin Vantage but less than cars like the Mercedes-AMG GT and Jaguar F-Type SVR. The power is coupled to a new 8-speed DCT gearbox which will also be used in the Ferrari SF 90 Stradale.
Ultimately, the Roma is a re-worked version of the Portifino, fitted with a fixed roof and updated styling.
Interior
There is only one photo of the interior which shows a tightly packaged interior with a high centre console. A display handles most of the inputs for the air conditioning and comfort settings with a number of conventional switches retained below.
The passenger seat gets a display incorporated into the dashboard. On the driver’s side, the steering wheel includes the trademark Ferrari manettino dial. The dashboard is an up to date digital display.
Competition
Without an idea on pricing, it looks as though the Roma is designed to compete at the lower end of the market with cars like the Aston Martin Vantage, Porsche 911 Turbo and Mercedes-AMG GT R.
We know that Bentley is working on something which might also give the Ferrari a run for its money. Maserati is known to have something in the pipeline, perhaps taking inspiration from the Roma.