FERRARI ROMA

The Ferrari Roma is a compact GT and l rather like Enzo’s marketing blurb; ‘the Roma is an F1 car in evening attire’.

By Maarten Hoffmann

GranTourismo cars are essentially designed for long journeys. This is not something one is used to with the Prancing Horse, as they can be hard as nails, fast as hades and exhausting to drive - and all with the enormous amount of focus required to ensure you don’t bin it and end up splashed across the evening news.

This two-door, two seater coupe with a front-mounted twin-turbo V8 is nicely house-trained, calm by Ferrari standards and very comfortable. The yardstick l always use is, ‘would l be happy to whizz down to Monaco – or Portofi no to be precise – for a coffee and a baguette and then climb aboard and drive straight back?’

The result? Yes, most certainly, and l would likely arrive back in Sussex and go do it again after a quick pee and a sarnie. By the way, there are two ‘seats’ in the back, but best for those that have friends who are 3’6” amputees.

It’s exciting, calm (ish), elegant, smooth and well-behaved - unlike the driver, you might say. But that’s the joy of me having the keyboard and those rude tykes just salivating over the car – oh, the power!

Just standing and looking at the Roma leads you to believe that Ferrari’s design director Flavio Manzoni is quietly, astutely revolutionary in his thinking as the Roma is a progressive looking, beautifully proportioned car. The front wings crest emotively, and the sheet metal resolves in an ever more sharky front end. It is rather beautiful and would not look out of place in a museum.

This is also a car that suits sober colours. There was a time when every new Ferrari was launched exclusively in rosso corsa. This is a different Ferrari for a different era. Maranello expects 70% of Roma customers to be new to the brand. Whatever times we’re in though, a Ferrari still needs to drive like a Ferrari...

In the company’s early days, all models were front-engined and rear-wheel drive – before the mid/rear-mounted fad came along – and here we are back where we started. It might look quite sedate but to trust in that would be a monumental error. A tad like a professional hitman; suave Armani suit and devilish good looks before he slips out his Walther PPK and blows your head off. You need to take care with the go pedal and, if in the wet, park it and get a cab.

It’s not keen on our wet pothole-laden roads, but then Ferraris were never really meant to be driven this far north. They suit warm tarmac, a hot mistral breeze and smooth surface. Find that and you will have died and gone to