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ROMA HARKING BACK TO PREDECESSORS FROM THE 1950S AND 60S, Y E T R E S O L U T E LY M O D E R N I N I T S C L E A N , M U S C U L A R D E S I G N , T H E F E R R A R I R O M A M I G H T J U S T B E T H E B E S T- LO O K I N G N E W C A R O N T H E R O A D T O D AY. S O , D O E S T H E T W O - S E AT G R A N D T O U R E R H AV E T H E P E R S O N A L I T Y T O M AT C H I T S L O O K S ?
Words: Charlie Thomas
T
he grey tarmac snakes between two banks of blurry foliage. The green grass and purple hedges loom over, closing in as the narrow road winds left, then right. The hills of north Wales then open up and turn into mountains. Daggers of slate point in all directions, looking equally menacing and awesome. I want to pull over and admire the landscape, but my foot is on the loud pedal and I can’t stop. This is the kind of road keen drivers would pay to experience, and I’m behind the wheel of the new Ferrari Roma. There have been worse Tuesday afternoons. The Roma is a departure for Ferrari of late. It looks entirely different to anything Maranello
has ever produced, yet it’s somehow familiar. Its numbers are what you’ve come to expect, but it’s not all about performance. There’s more to it than that. The Roma looks to Ferrari’s past, undoubtedly, but its 20-inch wheels are firmly in the present, both aesthetically and in the way it drives. It might be the most interesting Italian car in quite some time. In the past, Ferraris were beautiful, elegant pieces of design. From the late 1950s through to the late 90s, the marque could barely put a foot wrong. There were the low-slung, mid-engine sports cars it offered (the Dino, 355, 360 etc), which carved through the air, and looked like nothing else on the market. Then there were
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