The covers were whipped off the brand-new Ferrari Roma today at a client event in the Italian capital city the new coupe takes its name from.
Front-engined coupe proportions
The rear-sloped 'egg crate' style Ferrari grille up front harks back to many iconic cars from the Italian brand, but it leads into a thoroughly modern shape punctuated by high-tech LED lights. The side profile reveals the shark-nose shape of that front end, and the flanks of the Roma are free of clutter, allowing the characteristic five-star alloys to make it clear that you're looking at a new Ferrari. A single curved piece of shiny metal delineates the side window shape and helps emphasise the 'cab-back' proportions. You'll need to move around to the back to appreciate the muscularity of those rear haunches, into which the high-tech take on Ferrari's usual quad-light layout is set. There are four exhaust outlets in a modest looking aerodynamic diffuser and the Ferrari script sits on the rear window.
That window is fixed, despite the appearance of the shut lines, so there's a hinged boot lid allowing access to the luggage area. Ferrari says it holds 272 litres, though we noticed there are buttons in the side of the boot wall to flip down the rear seat backs. That opens up the volume to 345 litres, officially.
Our favourite V8
Ferrari's much-awarded twin-turbocharged 3.9-litre V8 petrol engine is mounted up front, but far enough back for it to be referred to as 'mid-front-engined'. Maximum outputs for the Roma are quoted as 620hp at 5,750-7,500rpm and 760Nm of torque accessible from 3,000-5,750rpm, putting it between the Ferrari F8 Tributo and Portofino. The Roma weighs as little as 1,472kg (depending on options, obviously), and Ferrari quotes a 0-100km/h time of 3.4 seconds, 0-200km/h in 9.3 seconds and a top speed of over 320km/h. The Roma's gearbox is Ferrari's new eight-speed dual-clutch unit, as first seen on the SF90 Stradale.
Right-sized?
The Roma, while built on the same 2,670mm wheelbase as the Portofino, will be longer, wider and a little lower than the coupe-convertible model. Ferrari calls the Roma a '2+' car, referring to the existance of small seats behind those in front.
Forget all that for the moment though and browse the gallery until you find the sole interior image of the Roma we have. It reveals a few interesting titbits. In front of the driver is a new take on the button-heavy, flat-bottomed steering wheel, complete with a restyled 'manettino' switch for driving modes. Behind that are large alloy gearchange paddles and a big colour screen for the instrumentation. In the middle of the car, there's an upright touchscreen system and new controls for the transmission (styled to look like the old manual gear gate of past Ferraris), while the passenger gets their own smaller touchscreen. The two sides of the car are clearly separated by the design of the dashboard and door panels and the upper surfaces are a lighter colour than those lower down.