The Ferrari Roma Is a Love Letter to Italy

Ferrari wrote the supercar rule guide. Its automobiles are unique, unique, highly effective and dramatic, each to admire and to drive. However above all else is Ferrari’s ardour; a ardour for producing “Prancing Horses” that gasoline an emotional connection between driver and machine. This ardour culminates within the Ferrari Roma, a automotive that stands apart from the overtly boisterous world of racing automobiles made for the street and as an alternative places the give attention to traditions, nostalgia, and outdated Italian luxurious values. 

Regardless of being on the decrease quarter of the marque’s roster, sitting alongside the Portofino M and recently-released Roma Spider, there’s little in regards to the Roma that feels entry-level. Heck, if you got the keys to a Ferrari that regarded prefer it was sculpted from Venetian marble for the weekend, we doubt you’d scoff at it being the newborn of the household. 

And Ferrari is aware of this. The Roma is la dolce vita: it embodies the very essence of what makes a automotive, corresponding to this, fascinating. It’s not attempting to be a rip-your-face-off 812 Superfast or a track-focused light-weight lap document setter – the Roma is all about indulging within the candy life, driving by way of the Italian hills, or in our case, escaping London for weekend excursions to moist and twisty British backroads, aka Hypebeast’s confirmed testing grounds for Open Street. 

We’ve beforehand put the Roma’s rivals – the Aston Martin DBS Superleggera and Bentley Continental GT Pace – by way of their paces in equivalent conditions, and we lastly obtained our arms on the final a part of this gran turismo holy trinity. Right here’s the way it squares up in opposition to its competitors. 

Engine and Dealing with

Ferrari is famend for its engines and dealing with. For the Roma, the producer has developed a 3.9-liter twin-turbocharged V8 that produces a wholesome 612 HP and 561 lb-ft of torque, leading to a 0-62 MPH time of three.4 seconds and a high velocity of 199 MPH. In the true world, you needn’t have any extra energy, and this recipe makes excellent sense for the Roma. 

That’s as a result of “the true world” is the place the Roma feels at house. Whereas supercars rapidly begin to get scorching, cumbersome, and heavy in site visitors, the Roma is compliant and comfy. It’s naturally geared in the direction of making the lifetime of the motive force as simple as might be; an eight-speed automated gearbox, adaptable suspension and throttle responsiveness settings plus a experience peak that received’t rip off your entrance bumper imply that driving the Roma is hassle-free as driving another automotive. 

Solely, it isn’t “another automotive.” This can be a Ferrari by all definitions of the phrase, one thing uncovered by placing the automotive into “Sport” or “Race” modes. Right here, the engine breathes into life; all the pieces stiffens and turns into extra alert, as do you have to.  

We now have pushed some speedy automobiles on Hypebeast’s Open Street, however few have tricked us just like the Roma. One second you’re doing 60 MPH coming onto the motorway, the following you’re pushing 150 MPH – and nothing contained in the cabin has modified. Its velocity is secretive, and its energy is addictive, with a robust connection between the motive force and the pedal that permits you to push the automotive to its restrict each time a stretch of tarmac opens up. 

As for dealing with, it’s quintessentially Ferrari. The steering wheel itself is mild, that includes carbon fiber elements high and backside for a well-weighted feeling, whereas the suggestions is razor sharp. One mistake and we’d name it cut-throat razor sharp. Fortunately, with the bottom relatively soggy in England, we may stick the automotive in “Moist” mode and depend on a complicated traction system that allowed us to discover the breadth of the Roma’s energy and capabilities with out spinning out on a puddle of water. 

Exterior 

As touched upon, the Roma is undeniably lovely. 

The coupé styling harks again to Ferrari’s legacy of making 2+2 grand tourers, characterised by designs of the Fifties and ‘60s. Like its grandfathers, the Roma is a shocking factor – particularly from the facet. Right here, you get to see the automotive’s proportions, break up between three distinct sections: an extended bonnet, a beneficiant swoopy coupé-roof large enough for 2 fully-grown adults and two (very) young children, and the final half – the rear finish. 

Ferrari says the Roma channels “timeless class.” Who’re we to disagree? However we are going to add that anybody driving behind you has a very good view of the automotive, with the Roma’s buttresses and rear haunches stretching huge throughout the rear earlier than coming to a slight level, outlined by 4 exhaust pipes poking out from the diffuser. 

It’s onerous to critique the Roma’s exterior. Even the back lights conjure up some sort of poetic metaphor and romantic feeling, their daintiness simply delicately offsetting the muscular, however not show-offy proportions of the automotive’s shoulders. Couple this with a spoiler that magically seems from the rear window, and also you’ve obtained your self what’s often known as a “sleeper” within the automotive trade – an car that doesn’t look as quick because it appears to be like. 

Inside

The inside and exterior are in concord with one another, because the cabin as a lot a pleasant place to take a seat as the outside is to have a look at. Touring seats are copiously giant and comfy, heating your again and backside whereas cradling you in its effective Italian leather-based. All the pieces you contact feels luxurious – a metallic plaque studying “Roma” reminds you the place you’re, and the digital display screen for the passenger reminds them how briskly you’re driving. 

There are a couple of nits to choose – the infotainment display screen is a bit rudimentary, and the touch-sensitive buttons on the steering wheel, controlling virtually all the pieces you could have to entry, work like a smartphone. Nice for strolling and speaking round city, however not so nice in a 199 MPH Ferrari. 

Regardless, if one is to drive any Ferrari for an extended time period, this is perhaps the one. Earlier than its new Purosangue four-door involves the mass market, this 2+2 seater will do exactly effective. As you sink into the seats of the Roma and begin to get acquainted with its distinctive inside set-up, the motive force and the automotive change into one relatively rapidly, permitting you to give attention to the street forward whereas working its techniques.

That is enhanced by Ferrari’s particular contact that finesses each little element. It appears like no stone was left unturned right here – a giant display screen in entrance brings up the velocity in huge numbers, a toggle on the wheel helps you to change the temper right away, and the automated gear selector is designed to appear to be a classic gated guide gearbox is a very well-considered contact, particularly in a automotive designed for a extra discerning Ferrari buyer. 

Verdict 

The Ferrari Roma is a love letter to Italy. From pasta to Positano, there’s an countless quantity of causes many return to Italy time and time once more. The Roma isn’t simply from Italy, it embodies all the pieces that makes the nation so nice; like its house, you’ll wish to return to the Roma repeatedly for equal quantities of sophistication, velocity, and sensory overload.