Ferrari Roma
‘IT’S NOT A PORTOFINO WITH A FIXED roof.’ That’s what Ferrari told us back in November when it unveiled the Roma, and the message was reiterated in yesterday’s Zoom presentation. ‘Seventy per cent is new. It’s a GT with a sporting edge; it has Side Slip Control and a five-setting manettino with a Race mode…’ Being healthily sceptical, only when we’d driven it would we know exactly what sort of Ferrari the Roma is.
Less than 20 minutes after setting off, the answer is that the Roma is a very good Ferrari, because in just a few miles it’s ticked all the important boxes. You’d never guess that it shares anything with the Portofino, except maybe its flat-plane-crank V8, though even that feels utterly different in character.
The first clue that dynamically the Roma is going to be a bit special comes within yards. Leaving the hotel we find ourselves on cobbled streets, but all that comes through is a soft, quiet pattering. A little further on, there’s some unavoidable, horribly broken asphalt and this also rolls beneath the Roma’s wheels with remarkably little fuss. But don’t go thinking that the Roma is some sort of lazy GT that has a chassis made of blancmange, a coupe that has prioritised ride comfort above all else. As the day will prove beyond doubt, this ride quality is a result of superb wheel control (helped by a bespoke Pirelli P Zero) and comes with satisfying dynamic precision rather than
