Ferrari Roma: gorgeous looks and performance details

Ferrari Roma

The all new Roma from Ferrari doesn’t just look gorgeous, but comes with some astounding performance figures, that can make you fall in love with this car at the very first sight. Unlike the other Ferrari’s like 488 Spider, 812 GTS or the LaFerrari Aperta, this car is not a convertible and has a fixed roof. Though it looks more like the Portofino, the Roma is more of a driver’s car and sort of through & through GT car. The 2020 Ferrari Roma is considered to be the most exotic and elegant looking Ferrari ever made and is named after the charismatic capital city of Italy. This car rolls of the Ferrari’s headquarters in Maranello and incorporates their latest design concept of “Nuove Dolce Vita”, which means “New Sweet Life”.

Ferrari Roma

Exterior Design

The Ferrari Roma has been designed to help the company define its next generation of supercars. It is a relatively small, compact and a great looking supercar that clearly commands attention under the sunny skies. When it was first showcased, many criticized the looks to be similar to Aston Martin Vantage or a Mercedes AMG GT. However, on a closer look, you can clearly see that the Roma design has been inspired by their Grand tourers of the 1960’s.

The front of the car looks carved out of a single piece of metal, giving it an overhanging shark nose effect. You can see that the front grille design gets its inspiration from the Ferrari 250 GT Lusso of the 1960s. The traditional styling cues can be seen in the wide front bonnet and the sinuous wings perfectly flowing into one another. Creativity can be seen in the full matrix LED headlights that are revolutionary in function. According to Ferrari, the new system allows the driver to keep the high beams on without having to blind the drivers on the opposite side. It has the capability to detect the other vehicle in its light range and automatically turns off that portion of the beam that could otherwise dazzle the other driver. The side profile has been kept so simple that even the turn signals behind the front wheel arches is barely visible and looks more like a dirty smudge.

Ferrari Roma

The rear end of the car is more or less clean and uncluttered with twin taillights that looks like gems set into the car. There is an active aerodynamic spoiler that deploys depending on the speed and driving mode. The diffuser is more neatly integrated into the tail that further helps the aerodynamics going underneath the car adding a bit more down force and reduce drag.

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Interior Design

The interiors of the Ferrari Roma look so fascinating, that once you are in you won’t feel like getting out. Ferrari introduced an evolved version of the dual-cockpit concept that includes an individual cell each for the driver and passenger – a design that gives the passenger the feeling of being a co-pilot. As you enter the car, you can see the dominance of the beautiful leather stitching and the digital screen technology within the car. The materials used within the car includes a combined mix of upscale materials like the full grain frau leather, alcantara, chromed aluminum and carbon fiber. On the digital aspect, the driver gets a large 16 inch fully digital instrument cluster that’s part of Human Machine Interface (HMI), an 8.4-inch central infotainment system that has all the controls for climate, audio and navigations. Also, on the passenger side, there’s an 8.8-inch screen directly in front of him, where he or she can choose between performance figures, music, navigation as well as their personal climate settings.

Ferrari Roma interior

The controls in this car are unlike any of its rivals like the Porsche or the Maserati. However, they are well laid out in a typical Ferrari style. Behind the front row, though the car boasts of the 2+2 coupe status, the space there is so confined that very few people would like to use that. Similarly, the storage area in the trunk looks scarce and gets a space between 9.6 and 12.18 cubic feet. Ferrari could have given it a bit more of space there, so as to have enough room to hold a couple of carry-on suitcases.

Engine, Transmission and Performance

The Ferrari Roma gets a familiar 3.9-liter twin turbo V8 which you would have already seen in the 488 GT. The updated version for the Roma produces a massive 612 bhp of power between 5750-7500 rpm and 760 Nm of torque at 3000-5750 rpm. All this power and torque goes into the rear wheels through a new Getrag 8-speed dual clutch automatic gearbox, thus helping lower the center of gravity for the car as well as allowing the low bonnet and interesting grille that we discussed in the exterior section. The car can sprint from 0 to 62 mph in just 3.4 seconds and can reach a maximum speed of 199 mph which is reasonably good for any GT car.

Ferrari Roma engine

Although there has been a lot of detail improvements and systems that have been taken from other Ferrari models and reprogrammed for Roma, the chassis is 70% new over the Portofino. It is a very capable GT model and is the first of the Ferrari models to get the five steps of Manettino – Wet, Comfort, Sport, Race and ESC Off, with the Race mode being a new addition.

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Price

The Ferrari Roma is expected to be released in the United States in the first quarter of 2021 and will be priced with a base tag of $222,000. While in India the Roma is expected to be launched in October 2020 and will be priced between ₹ 3.50 to 4.0 crore.

Ferrari Roma Gallery

Ferrari Roma Tuning from Wheelsandmore

For those of you who are not satisfied with the performance figures that the vehicle offers, here’s some more for you to roar. Wheelsandmore – German automotive tuning company gives you an option to load your Roma with an easily installable tuning program box, that can increase the performance of the vehicle from 612 hp to 700 hp and torque from 760 Nm to 885 Nm. The company also gives a 2 year of additional guarantee on the engine and drive just in case any problem occurs. Apart from this, they also have designed rims for the Ferrari Roma in both 21 and 22 inch sizes and has three different model options.

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Ferrari Roma Wheelsandmore Gallery

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Verdict

Ferrari has definitely created something rather special through the Roma. It fulfills every aspect of a GT model, while looking stunning and equipped with just the right amount of useable technology.

So! what are your thoughts about this new marvel from Ferrari? is the new Ferrari Roma a win or should it go to the bin? Let me know your thoughts in the comment box below.

An Aerospace engineer by profession, Bob has a deep passion for automobiles. He started blogging on automotive stuffs since 2010 and still has the same drive for the automobiles. Feel free to contact him using the "Contact Us" form.Add Bob on FB