FIRST DAYS OF ROMA

Evocative of the 1960s and a brighter period in human history, Ferrari’s new Roma 2+2 is here to save 2020 from misery

- Ben Miller

8.00 am

PIAZZO VITTORIO EMANUELE II, POLLENZO

Eight o’clock in the morning and the chiming of ancient bells rolls around the cobbled piazza as it has done for centuries. Overhead, yesterday’s clear sky has given way to a bruised, claustrophobically low ceiling of cloud that entirely cloaks the distant mountains. The air is thick, warm like a bath, and heavy with the scent of storms. In half an hour (and not a moment before, sadly), I’ll be given the key to my Roma. Until then, there’s time enough for another espresso and to ponder all that we know about Maranello’s latest, a front/midengined 2+2 GT that, with neat symmetry, feels like a timely nod to Ferrari’s glorious past just as the fearlessly progressive hybrid SF90 forges into the future.

The Roma is, depending on your generosity, either nothing more than a Portofino with that car’s folding hardtop roof welded shut or one of the most intriguing Ferrari in years, one uninterested in outright performance and the race-inspired visual clutter of cars like the F8 Tributo and keener instead on qualities such as timelessness, elegance, and day-to-day usability. The Roma is a 21st-century Ferrari that, in its remit, style and heartswelling romance, calls to mind masterpieces such as the 250 GT Lusso — or so Ferrari hope. Fast, engaging to drive and beautiful, it’s Maranello’s 911, if you will, albeit with a list price just north of £170k (Rs 1.61 crore).