The idea of driving a Ferrari thrills some people, and frightens others witless – proffer them the key, even in an obviously joking manner, and they leap back reflexively as if you’ve offered them a coiled scorpion.
Generally, however, Ferraris are not that difficult to drive as long as you treat the throttle like a sleeping tiger, everything will be fine.
The company’s latest and greatest entry-level offering – the sultry, sinuous and sensational new Roma – does present a problem, however. The Roma is difficult to drive, because to do so you first have to stop staring at it.
There have been, over the years, many beautiful cars, and some of the best ever have burst forth from Italy. This new Roma, I would dare to argue, is quite possibly the most beautiful car anyone, anywhere, has ever made.
This is perhaps because it is not purely Ferrari in its design. There is plenty of classic Aston Martin in that stunning, retro-cool vented chin; many people see Jaguar at its best in Roma’s flowing shape and firm backside, with the perfectly executed rear light cluster. Others point out the Porsche-ness of its side profile, or the Corvette musculature. As good as it looks in photographs, the Ferrari Roma is even more jaw-achingly, sigh-makingly lovely in the metal (and ours wasn’t even Ferrari red, but a striking silver that made it look like liquid chrome).
Having met Ferrari’s chief designer, Flavio Manzoni, who sometimes comes up with his cars by bringing the world’s best pianists into his studio to play while he and his minions make art, its beauty should not come as a surprise, yet it still does. And I point out again, this is not the pinnacle of the brand, but its most accessible offering, a Ferrari for the people, at just $409,888.00
Once you manage to tear your eyes away and climb inside there is even more to give you pause, with a luscious Italian leather interior, a beautiful new steering wheel (now covered in digital sensors rather than traditional buttons and switches) and an absolutely gorgeous gear-selector. Designed to resemble the fabulous H-pattern, gated manuals of supercars past, it not only looks stunning, but when you select Manual mode, or Launch Control, a little red digital drop of lava slips from the middle of the H-pattern to light up your choice. It’s a tiny touch, but a lovely one.
https://www.ferrari.com/en-EN/auto/ferrari-roma-official-video
There’s also a very modern and enormous 16-inch customisable digital instrument display in front of you, which features graphics that look like they were designed by Tony Stark, and it can also turn into a vast and clever map. On the downside, you have to use digital interfaces for just about everything; even adjusting the stereo volume can be a chore.
My larger concern would be that making Ferraris more electronically complex is like giving a toddler a spray can rather than a crayon with which to wreak havoc. I’m yet to borrow a Ferrari that didn’t display some kind of electronic gremlin, and my brand-new Roma flashed up warnings about a “Failed Passenger E-Latch”, an inoperative predictive emergency braking system and “Parking sensor failure. Warning! Possible obstacles”, all in less than 24 hours.
In the past, entry-level cars like the California have been a bit faux Ferrari, so I wasn’t expecting too much from the driving experience, and frankly I was so taken by its looks that I almost didn’t care, but this is a serious machine.
It gets a proper 3.9-litre, twin-turbo V8 making a very loud 456kW and 760Nm, and can hit 100km/h in 3.4 seconds, or 200km/h in 9.3. Unlike Ferrari’s furious mid-engined supercars, the Roma’s engine sits underneath that enormous bonnet, the size of which you are made intensely aware of should you dare enter a suburban car park of any kind.
Manoeuvring a work of art on wheels can be a challenge in town, but on any kind of open road the Roma makes an excellent grand tourer, or it would, if you threw out the seats and replaced them with something comfortable. Bringing your own cushions is another option, but it does seem genuinely strange that a car that is so well designed in every other way falls down because the seats are too hard, and lacking in support.
The Roma is still fun, of course, with the kind of power that creates amusing wheel spin when you’re not quite expecting it, loads of unnecessary but pleasant noise and potent performance. It is more than enough car for anyone with a love of driving and yet some sense of self-preservation.
The steering is sharp without being alarming, the ride and handling are very good and, if you want to put it in automatic and drive it in Comfort mode, the Roma can do a good impression of a big, dangerous dog that has just lain down and gone peacefully to sleep.
Driving it will, of course, remain merely a sideshow compared to its essential purpose of looking fantastic, but at least by doing so, you are making the day of every single person you drive past.
FERRARI ROMA
ENGINE: 3.9-litre, twin-turbo V8 (456kw/760Nm). Average fuel 15.3 litres per 100km
TRANSMISSION: 8-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive
PRICE: $409,888
STARS out of 5: ★★★★
