Supercar Review: 2021 Ferrari Roma

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Roma, or Rome to us mangia-cakes , the Eternal City, capital of Italy and, during the Mille Miglia — the greatest race in the history of motorsports — the turnaround point where the fiercest, most fearless of drivers then pointed their sleek chariots north at breakneck speed toward the finish line in Brescia, delighting the millions who lined the 1,000-mile route. Enzo Ferrari’s high-powered machines dominated the event during the post-war years, winning it eight times between 1948 and 1957. This was indeed the Golden Age for sports- and racing car design throughout Europe.

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“Roma” is also the name affixed to Maranello’s latest high-priced gran turismo , the car’s mid-front-engine layout clothed in voluptuous sheet metal. Modern in every way, it purposely evokes a memory of the fabulous 250 series of sports cars — notably the Berlinetta Lusso and the GT  2+2 — with styling Ferrari describes as “a contemporary reinterpretation of the carefree lifestyle of 1950s and ’60s Rome.”

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“Stunning” is such an inadequate word to describe the Roma. Easily — in my admittedly biased opinion — the most elegant car to wear the prancing horse emblem this century, its long hood, cab-rearward shape has an elongated, fluid quality to it, clean and devoid of sharp character lines. At speed, it wouldn’t so much as cut through the air as slip through it. The car’s designers, says Ferrari, strove to achieve a “minimalist elegance” by removing any vents or superfluous “decorations.” They succeeded.

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Even better is that Ferrari’s most eye-catching model is also its least expensive, the $251,665 (to start) Roma is the gateway to the iconic brand. Sighting a unicorn-crewed UFO, however, would be easier than finding a box-stock Roma; in the case of the tester, a long list of very pricey options (about $70,000 worth) meant the car was rolling off the showroom floor with an MSRP of around $320K. Still a bargain!

As is any car bearing the Ferrari name, the Roma is capable of fearsome acceleration — zero to 100 km/h in just 3.4 seconds — and a mighty top end, the 3.9-litre twin-turbocharged V8 that is shared with several other Ferraris generating a generous 612 horsepower at 5,750 rpm. The engine explodes to life with a touch of the start icon on the steering wheel, throbbing and thrumming, seducing you into committing acts of unbecoming conduct.

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Yet, the Roma is no high-strung beast, all piss and vinegar when flogged, truculent and obstinate when driven sedately. Just the opposite, really, the car is easy to drive, even at elevated speeds. A bag of tricks (a.k.a. electronic backups) — fronted by Side Slip Control 6.0, which integrates systems such as the E-Diff, F1-Trac, SCM-E Frs and Ferrari Dynamic Enhancer — will help keep it on the road while assisting in superb handling.

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The Roma can also be on good behaviour when noodling through town on the way to the local DQ, which I discovered when sliding behind the wheel. Though not my first Ferrari, it had been about five years since I had driven one, and I treated the car as if I was holding a newborn, transmission in automatic setting, the five-position manettino (which sounds much nicer in Italian instead of calling it a “selectable drive mode switch”) set on Comfort. After familiarizing myself with the primary controls and the idiosyncrasies of the carbon-fibre sport steering wheel (more on this shortly), I concluded the Roma wasn’t a grizzly bear about to detach my head with a swipe of its paw — unless I did something completely stupid.

The one caveat to a serene driving experience is heavy traffic. In automatic and under light throttle, the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission tends to shift early and often, resulting in some jerkiness as the electronics try to figure out the optimal gear. My solution was to switch to manual mode and use the paddles to control things. Incidentally, the Roma’s transmission is derived from the gearbox found in the SF90 Stradale, the primary difference being the longer gear ratios and the introduction of a reverse gear.

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Separating the Roma from Ferrari’s more extreme models is that its engineering development focused as much on comfort and driving pleasure as performance. Oh, and safety. The optional ($9,840) ADAS system includes adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning with traffic sign recognition, blind-spot detection with rear cross-traffic alert, and a surround-view camera.

Ferrari describes the Roma’s cabin as a 2+, not a 2+2, recognizing that the only thing that will fit in the stubby rear seats is likely a Gucci gym bag or briefcase. The cabin itself, a mix of sublime luxury and high-tech, is a dual-cockpit design, essentially separate “cells” (not the jail variety) for the driver and passenger. Being more of a grand tourer — emphasis on “grand” — than some its more hard-edged siblings, the Roma is well kitted with infotainment and connectivity features, including a curved 16-inch HD instrument cluster screen and a vertically mounted 8.4-inch touchscreen, as well as a separate screen for the passenger.

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There’s plenty of headroom and legroom up front and the seats are ergonomic gems, deeply dished and bolstered. The view, looking through the steeply raked windshield, allows one to gaze at the sports car’s subtle power bulge and muscular fenders.

The optional carbon-fibre steering wheel introduces multi-touch controls that allow the driver to manage any aspect of the Roma without ever taking hands off the wheel. Controls include the manettino , headlights, windshield wipers and turn signal indicators. Haptic controls include a touchpad on the right-hand spoke of the steering wheel that allows one to navigate the central cluster screens, while voice and adaptive cruise control are on the left. It’s a thing of beauty and very racer-ish, but it helps to have small hands (I don’t), which meant I accidentally brushed some control on more than a few occasions, resulting in the instrument screen changing, the wipers activating, or a disembodied voice asking how she could be of assistance.

But what’s a high-priced sports car without a few — at least to a relative neophyte — idiosyncrasies? The Roma is the complete deal. Eye-catching, comfortable, luxurious, powerful, fast and endlessly entertaining, it is Ferrari at its most generous to its patrons. And, it is a welcome addition to the esteemed automaker’s long, long list of significant grand tourers.