Prestige travels to the Italian island of Sardinia to drive Ferrari’s latest convertible, the Roma Spider. It goes without saying we’re infatuated. Instantly.
It’s just after eight in the morning and the sun has already climbed high in the cloudless Mediterranean sky. Ahead of me, through the windscreen, the road – mercifully almost entirely free of other traffic – snakes enticingly along a rugged indented coastline, from which the deep blue sea stretches away to the horizon and, beyond that, the northern coast of Africa. Even forgetting the vehicle I’m sitting in, it’s the kind of scene I fantasise about whenever I ease myself into a driving seat. But the car – oh my lord, the car. I’ve only been behind the wheel for 15 minutes, but it’s already crystal clear that Ferrari’s new Roma Spider, which I’ve flown to the Italian island of Sardinia to spend the next few hours throwing around on these blissfully deserted byways, verges on the sublime.
Some cars flatter to deceive, but the Roma Spider looks so perfect, so exquisite, that you know even without driving it: it’s going to blow you away. Of course, it has provenance. When, almost exactly four years ago, Ferrari whipped the wraps off its then-new Roma – appropriately in the heart of the city it was named after – the coupe was hailed
as representing a return to the elegance of the 1950s and early ’60s, a time when the stars of Italian cinema, such as Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni and Gina Lollobrigida, were in every way as glamorous as those of Hollywood. Just like the company’s grand tourers of the same era, the Roma’s engine – though, in deference to more modern requirements, now a relatively frugal twin-turbocharged V8 instead of a 100-octane-slurping V12 – was installed beneath the car’s long, shark-nosed bonnet, rather than being tucked between the passenger compartment and the rear wheels. That latter configuration may be great for weight distribution, balance and handling, but it’s rarely served as the basis for classic styling – and with its near-perfect coupe proportions enhanced by a subtle absence of vents and orifices, classic is exactly what the Roma was. No wonder Ferrari borrowed freely from the late filmmaker Federico Fellini to describe its charismatic newcomer, when it coined the tagline la nuova dolce vita.
Just as important, the Roma was as thrilling behind the wheel as it was beautiful to look at. In fact, some commentators thought the car’s combination of speed, poise and sheer effortless driveability was almost too good for what was, in effect, the entry point to Maranello’s elevated automotive hyper-verse.
That sooner or later Ferrari would take the carving knife to the Roma’s coupe roof, lovely though it is, was no great surprise, but that it took the company four long years to unveil the results wasn’t what anyone expected. Almost certainly there were other priorities, not the least being the launch of the four-door Purosangue “FUV”, and perhaps the decapitation job was trickier than anyone had imagined. Nonetheless – and despite the familiarity of much of its styling – the new Spider version of the Roma looks stunning from pretty much every angle. That’s partly because the company has ditched the folding hardtop – never the most attractive feature of the California and Portofino models that preceded the Roma – and instead opted for a proper old-school ragtop, a solution last used for a front-engine Fezza at least half a century ago (though when I say “ragtop”, I’m actually referring to a canvas roof comprising five layers of material and eye-catching two-tone weaves that either match or contrast with the car’s body colour).
Hit the roof button – it takes less than 14 seconds to open, and at speeds up to 60km/h – and the Roma takes on an entirely novel aspect around the rear three quarters, the pronounced haunches over the wheels appearing at once voluptuously feminine yet ruggedly muscular. It really is something to behold. Raised, the curved roofline integrates seamlessly with the car’s silhouette, while the active rear-deck spoiler operates exactly as it does on the coupe, roof up or down.
Decked out in the model’s exclusive launch colour, Celeste Trevi Metallizzato – the name conjures images of a soaked Anita Ekberg cavorting in a certain Roman fountain – the car assigned to me lacks the yellow Ferrari side shields, and with this delicate shade of blue, leaving the flanks unbadged seems absolutely the way to go. Almost everything else, though, is carried over unchanged from the coupe, including the cabin’s stylish twin-cockpit design, which wraps cosily around each front occupant and is now on full view for all to admire. Seats are superb, finishing is excellent and, for once, the satnav on the vertical central screen works perfectly (though perhaps that’s because it’s mirroring Apple CarPlay). As for the button- and Manettino-festooned steering wheel, it’s Marmite, but after many years’ familiarisation at least I can now say I’m used to it.
The Roma’s “2+” designation means there’s theoretically room for two very small children sitting in the rear, though in another small departure from the coupe their “seatback” serves a dual purpose, flipping up at the touch of a button to serve as a wind and noise diffuser when the roof is down. Frankly this contraption looks odd and even rudimentary, but after experiencing it functioning at speeds up to 200km/h I can attest it to its remarkable effectiveness. Sorry kids, but you’re staying home today.
Of course, you’re all desperate to know what the soft-top Roma is like to drive – and here I must repeat the motoring writer’s mantra that removing a car’s roof inevitably increases body flex and thus requires additional strengthening, which obviously means extra weight (we’re talking here about an additional 80-odd kilograms). But, wind in the hair aside, how many of those doughty correspondents could honestly tell the difference between the coupe and the slightly heavier convertible? I’ll confidently bet hardly any.
Granted, revised damper settings mean it rides a little softer than the tin-top, but this barely compromises the car’s superb dynamic abilities. Add to that the 611bhp and 760Nm of torque at 3,000-5,750rpm from its twin-blown 3.9-litre V8, which translate into blinding acceleration: it reaches 100km/h from zero in just 3.4 seconds, and even though there are way more powerful machines on the road than this, that’s surely rapid enough for anyone.
Indeed, thanks to the wonderfully flexible motor and whip-crack shifts from the eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox, time and again I find myself barrelling along these quiet country roads at unfeasibly illegal speeds, the digital readout spooling like a split-seconds counter up to 200 and more, while on the twisty bits the almost perfect front-to-rear weight distribution, combined with clever chassis tuning and laser-accurate steering, has me channelling Leclerc on his home circuit back in Monaco. There’s massive grip on those bends too, though whenever Ferrari’s Side-Slip traction control senses I’m about to overcook things, it steps in smartly but oh-so unobtrusively, convincing me in the process I’m a far better driver than I’d thought. (Did I really do that? Of course!) In short, this is a truly exhilarating yet hugely forgiving machine – fast like the best sports cars, but with comfort levels approaching a limo
– and though never as stirring as a V12, the soundtrack from that V8 up front is rarely less than rousing.
So now you’re wondering whether you should empty the piggy bank, pull out the chequebook, raid the crypto account or however else you pay for big-ticket purchases these days, and slap down your savings on a Roma Spider. And the answer to that is yes, you should, assuming of course that Ferrari hasn’t already pre-sold all the cars it’s likely to build. Because to my mind you won’t find a luxury convertible anywhere that’s so beautiful, so fun and rewarding to drive, and so easy to live with. But why ask me anyway? You know you want it.
Best real-world Ferrari you can buy right now? Although I’m still in awe of the 296, I’m inclined to believe it is.
Technical Details of the Ferrari Roma Spider
ENGINE Twin-turbo 3.9-litre V8
TRANSMISSION Eight-speed dual-clutch
MAX POWER 611bhp
MAX TORQUE 760Nm @ 3,000-5,750rpm
MAX SPEED 320km/h
ACCELERATION 0-100km/h in 3.4 seconds
UNLADEN WEIGHT 1,556kg (dry)
PRICE HK$3.825 million