FERRARI ROMA

Ferrari’s all-new Roma promises to be something most Ferraris can’t

- MARTIN ALVA

There are things in life we need and there are things that we want. No one needs a new Ferrari, but everyone wants one. That’s the story Ferrari wants to build on with this brand-new addition to its current line-up with the Roma. It is not a car anyone asked for, but it is most certainly a car all of us want.

I must admit, the Ferrari Roma doesn’t seem quite in-sync at the dealership when you see it parked next to its siblings. Once you’ve seen a Roma, you’ll know what I mean. The Roma is a special kind of gorgeous and probably one of the most beautiful ways to package a ton and a half of wires, glass, leather, metal, and rubber. Ferrari claims that the design language that inspired this car is intended to showcase La Nuova Dolce Vita, Italian for the “pleasurable way of life,” a theme that distinguished Italy’s capital in the 1950s and 60s. The Roma’s styling symbolizes a rather unique departure from Ferrari’s current road car designs. It is an attempt to strike a balance between modern-day performance with timeless elegance.

It’s no doubt that the Roma has won three major awards already for its design. Notably from Red Dot and Esquire. Red Dot was quoted saying “… renouncing all superfluous details, the design of the Ferrari Roma achieves a formal minimalism that characterizes the timeless elegance of this sports car.”

Compared to other mid-engine Ferrari models, which show their ultrahigh-speed track-oriented potential even when stationary, the Roma is elegant, clean and with a more mature Rosso Mugello shade on our test car, it showcases its lines gracefully without screaming of its supercar soul.