DOLCE VITA

from duPont REGISTRY Autos April 2023

JJ Rods

It’s 10 a.m. on a Friday, and a white transport truck squeals to a halt outside my front door. It tilts, and out rolls a sleek gray coupe, a car seemingly plucked out of the 1960s. While my neighbors have gotten used to all sorts of crazy machines arriving at odd hours, this one is di erent. I can see eyeballs peering through blinds and rubbernecking as drivers pass by. The Ferrari Roma is not just another supercar. Its stellar looks command attention without relying on performance stats or noise. It’s achingly gorgeous.

The Roma is designed for the person who thinks “they just don’t make them like they used to.” Built as an homage to the glitz and glamor of 1950s and ’60s Rome, this Prancing Horse represents a new styling direction for the brand. Instead of focusing on the future like the automaker’s latest electriﬁed cars, this model drew inspiration from some of Ferrari’s greatest hits, like the 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso and 250 GT 2+2.

Don’t for a second think that the Roma is all ﬂash and no ﬁre. With a snarling twin-turbocharged 3.9-liter V8 under its long hood, it’s anything but slow. It produces 612 horsepower and 561 pound-feet of torque, which — thanks to a snappy dual-clutch transmission and a rear-drive layout — delivers a level of brutality and pace you wouldn’t expect from such an elegant machine.

Ferrari claims a 3,461-pound curb weight, but you’d be hardpressed to tell in the bends. With sticky Michelin tires and a front-mid-engine layout pushing its center of mass inward, the Roma’s front end is properly agile. It’s eager to turn in and rewarding to hustle up a back road. Despite being advertised as a GT, I can’t conﬁdently claim you’d be quicker up a canyon road in an F8 Tributo. The Roma is a proper athlete in its own right.

The Roma is as stunning inside as it is out. With a driverfocused cabin and few physical buttons, it prioritizes form over function. It’s the Roma’s tech that lets it down, however; anyone who remembers midcentury Rome would likely clash with this level of modernity. While the haptic buttons are beautiful, they lack responsiveness. The same goes for the central infotainment screen, which despite o ering all of the features you’d expect, remains challenging to operate.

Technological shortcomings aside, the Roma wins with its personality. It’s quick, agile, and engaging to drive, making it feel quite like a supercar in spite of its GT aspirations. However, you don’t need to drive a Roma to appreciate it. Its appeal is intergenerational, even to nonenthusiasts. It doesn’t need stats to make its case. One glance is all it takes.

FERRARI ROMA

ENGINE

3.9-liter F154 BH twin-turbo V8