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The New Life with Ferrari Roma

The New Life with Ferrari Roma

Anne Kurian
  • Ferrari pays tribute to the carefree, delightful way of life that Italy’s capital was popular for during the ‘50s and ‘60s with the stunning Roma. Anne Kurian takes the new GT for a spin

To say that the Ferrari Roma is a head turner would be an understatement. Exquisitely designed, the Grand Tourer from the Prancing Horse is pure luxury. Ferrari Roma pays tribute to the carefree, delightful way of life that Italy’s capital was popular for during the ‘50s and ‘60s.

The Roma is meant to evoke La Nuova Dolce Vita or the new life even while it takes inspiration from the early grand tourers 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso and 250 GT 2+2. The beautifully sculpted Roma combines classic sublimity with modern engineering, resulting in an ideal daily use Ferrari especially for city dwellers. 

The Luxury Bulletin was invited to test drive the Ferrari Roma recently. To be honest, we couldn’t get enough of the GT. Right from the sleek and stylish silhouette of the car to the stunning performance, the Ferrari Roma left us wanting for more. 

Now where do we start? There is so much to share about the Roma. Starting with the silhouette and design. An attribute commonly associated with the Roma is stunning. And that is by no means an exaggeration. 

Clean, modern and refined, the exterior design of the Roma is nothing short of being termed a piece of modern art. Sporting sleek lines that accentuate the curvaceous body, the Roma is a good-looking car with very little visual fuss – something that Ferrari excels in. 

Design Director Flavio Manzoni said in a press statement: “We wanted this to be a pure, monolithic form. It was important to be able to draw the car with just one line.” Undoubtedly, Manzoni has realised this vision in the Roma.

On the physical specifications front, the new Roma is 4656 mm long with width at 1974 mm and height at 1301 mm. The wheelbase is 2,670 mm; the front and rear tracks measure 1,652 mm and 1,679 mm, respectively. The boot space impressively stands at 272 litres, which can further be increased to 345 litres. 

Among the exterior design features that caught our attention, besides the sleekness of the silhouette, is the low placed full-LED Adaptive headlights crossed by a light strip lending a futuristic effect. At the rear is a twin taillight styled like thin bars. We especially love the front of the car that swoops sharply forward like a chiselled shark nose.

Moving to the interiors, the Roma is just as classy inside as it is outside. One of the first features that stood out for us is the 16’ inch digital instrument cluster crafted to make driving smoother with far less distractions. The Roma’s cabin design is centered around the dual-cockpit concept with two separate cells – one each for the driver and passenger. Another highlight is the steering wheel that sports a fresh design; on the steering wheel are haptic controls and 5-driver setting Manettino switch.

And did we mention the key fob? The Roma’s fob is a rectangular metallic key swathed in leather, with the car’s lettering on one side and the brand’s logo on the other. The key stays snug in a dedicated spot just at the end of the centre console. What’s also notable is the active spoiler at the base of the rear window that comes out as you punch down the accelerator. 

Inside the Roma is Ferrari’s 3.9-litre, twin-turbo V-8 engine, mated to the brand’s new eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. Winner of the International Engine of the Year award four years in a row, the V-8 features Variable Boost Management for superfast throttle response. What this also does is adjust torque delivery to suit the gear selected, and thus deliver powerful performance. 

While we did not test out the Roma’s prowess to go 0-100 km/h in 3.4 seconds, the throttle response definitely caught us by surprise. The gear shifts are smoother and quicker in the Roma; driving it in the city during rush hour was pretty much comfortable as testing the Roma off city roads. The Roma drives like a dream; Ferrari has brought in the sporty element of driving quite seamlessly into a Grand Tourer. 

Overall, the Ferrari Roma is an ideal ‘first’ Ferrari. Or even a new addition to one’s collection. A GT with the soul of a sports car, the Ferrari Roma packs in quite the punch that one would expect from the Prancing Horse while holding its own in the stable. 

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