LA NUOVA DOLCE VITA

The chic, pleasure-seeking heyday of the mid-century Italian lifestyle relives in the new Roma Spider that carries over the proportions, volumes, and specifications of the highly successful Ferrari Roma, but with a soft-top twist that makes a welcome return to the Prancing Horse range on a front-engine car 54 years after the 1969 365 GTS4.

It is nearly 32 degrees Celsius when I touch down at Cagliari International Airport (a far cry from the sub-20 temperatures I left behind in South Africa a day before) on the first day of a whirlwind visit to the island of Sardinia, where Ferrari presented its first front-engine soft-top grand tourer in 50 years.

The last time a Prancing Horse sported a soft top was on the mid-engine F430 Spider that broke cover at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show, and remained in production until 2009. 

Although the F430 remains a remarkable car in its own right, the new car presented by Maranello on the shores of the Mediterranean traces its heritage farther back to the heady days of Italian sports tourers from the 1950s and 1960s, most notably the iconic 365GTS/4 Daytona Spyder produced between 1968 and 1973, which was the last cloth-top Ferrari with its engine straddling the front wheels.

A NEW STORY BEGINS

Although a classic re-interpretation of a remarkable icon, conceived to revitalise the marque’s legacy of classic open-top motoring, the Roma Spider is in every way a modern Ferrari – an unrestrained symbol of style, performance, and purity. 

Designed by the Ferrari Styling Centre, the Roma Spider presented Ferrari engineers with a unique challenge to retain the elegant lines of the Roma even in soft-top form. The 2+ Spider boasts a sophisticated fabric top designed not only to maintain, but enhance the proportions of the coupé on which it is based, without modifying the Roma’s flowing silhouette. 

Redesigning the coupé’s tapering, fastback roofline meant modifying the rear screen to incorporate it into the soft top to fold below the tonneau cover when open. To accommodate the new roof mechanism, the Ferrari’s designers modified the Roma coupé’s design slightly by adding a band matching the body colour along the base of the roof’s rear section and leading back to the carbon fibre active spoiler, and creating a seamless integrated tonneau cover. When the top is lowered, the active spoiler visually connects with the rear bench and headrests.

For the Roma Spider, Ferrari developed a new fabric with special two-tone weaves available in a palette of four colours to match the car’s colour and highlight the Spider’s sporty and elegant duality. 

An optional technical fabric (as fitted to our test car) was developed specifically for the Roma Spider and includes a red thread woven into the textured roof material to create a striking red finish that enhances the roof’s three-dimensional surface. 

The five-layer fabric roof takes a mere 13.5 seconds to deploy and can be raised and lowered at speeds up to 60 km/h. By eschewing the retractable hardtop used on the Spiders Portofino M predecessor, Ferrari has also delivered more luggage space with the roof folded. 

Notably, Ferrari developed a patented wind deflector installed behind the rear Roma Spider’s seats. Deployed remotely at the press of a button on the centre console (at speeds up to 170 km/h), the deflector raises horizontally behind the front seats, and is remarkably effective at keeping wind intrusion into the cabin to a minimum.

Naturally, some chassis modifications were required to compensate for the lack of a fixed roof, with the most notable change being the addition of reinforced sills similar to those used on the Portofino M. Despite the additional reinforcement, the Spider’s overall weight is up by a slight 83 kg from the Roma coupé, for a total dry weight of 1,556 kg.

DUAL COCKPIT CONCEPT

In Ferrari speak, the Roma Spider takes the same approach to volumes and forms introduced in the Ferrari Roma. Simply, the Spider’s ‘dual cabin concept’ – two separate spaces, one each for driver and passenger – was gleaned directly from the Roma coupé. This layout has its roots deep in the marque’s history with cars from the 1970s, and in the Roma Spider, means that the cabin sections wrap around the driver and passenger, imparting a sense of participation even if you’re not lucky enough to be positioned behind the Spider’s steering wheel.

A refined version of the Roma’s steering wheel has touch controls on its spokes. Ferrari says that the improved design of the touch controls and trackpad (on the left and right of the steering wheel, respectively) help the driver know where the controls are, in line with their “eyes on the road, hands on the wheel” philosophy. 

While it is clear that much thought and development has gone into simplifying these controls, the sheer number of menus and functions accessible from the steering wheel can be overwhelming, and the short time we spent with the car was not enough to thoroughly familiarise ourselves with all the possibilities. However, when a new Roma Spider owner receives their car, a detailed handover and in-depth explanation will solve that problem.

Another Roma carryover is the integrated 16” digital instrument cluster and an 8.4” display, set between the two cockpits, incorporating additional infotainment and climate controls. The passenger can also access an optional display to share the driving information. 

The Spider’s F1 gearbox controls are set into a metal plate that references yesteryear’s iconic gear lever gates. In the Ferrari Roma Spider this is positioned in the centre of the tunnel and inclined to make it easier for the driver to reach and see.

Our launch car was also optioned with several extras, including the passenger display, Magneride suspension, adaptive LED headlights, ventilated seats, and the full Ferrari Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) suite.

LIVING LA DOLCE VITA

There is something uniquely special to the experience of driving a convertible Ferrari, and doing so on home soil is even more distinctive. Although crafted in Modena, the Roma Spider’s launch drive along the Sardinian coastline highlighted how the Spider is at once an elegant instant classic tourer and a fire-breathing V8 Italian supercar that will enthral and engage from the moment you press its pulsating start button.

The Spider retains the Ferrari Roma’s excellent dynamic characteristics, with a best-in-class weight/power ratio thanks, in part, to its all-aluminium chassis and 3.9-litre 465 kW bi-turbo V8 from the four-time International Engine of the Year-winning F154 engine family. The direct-injected engine is, in turn, coupled with Ferrari’s eight-speed DCT, known for its swift shift times and excellent comfort and mechanical efficiency standards. 

The Roma Spider is not just rewardingly to drive; it is also extremely dynamic and responsive, and it would be a mistake to think that the Spider is a compromise over its fixed-roof stablemate. Where some convertibles are reinforced after the fact to compensate for the absence of a fixed roof, the Roma Spider’s structure was developed in sync with the coupé from the outset.

With temperatures still in the lower 30s, Sardinia’s mountain roads in the south beckoned, the conditions ideal for experiencing the thrill of a drop-top Ferrari. 

Underlining its daily driver nature, the Roma Spider is comported on straight roads and effortlessly absorbs road imperfections without compromising ride quality. Yet, when the Manettino dial is adjusted a few notches, the Roma Spider transitions from a sophisticated, relaxed cruiser to a ferocious supercar, ready to take on the most challenging roads.

As I headed into the first of two twisty sections on our launch route, my confidence in the Spider’s capabilities grew, along with my eagerness to explore the car’s remarkable grip and agility. Exuding character and charisma, and just the right amount of attitude and weight transfer to instil confidence in its chassis, the Roma coolly forgave my most demanding cornering inputs, holding back on intervening with the traction control system unless truly necessary, thanks to the finely tuned ADAS calibration and the latest sixth-generation side-slip control system.

In Sport mode, the steering feel is exceptionally sensitive, as is the turn-in response from the Spider’s front end that effortlessly tracked the given line through corners. Where too many modern sports cars feel flat and lifeless, the Roma Spider’s ever-so-slight chassis roll adds to its engaging nature. Despite my efforts, the car’s rear remained firmly planted as the Spider displayed exceptional competence in transferring its formidable power to the road. Always, of course, with the exhilarating Ferrari V8 soundtrack playing in the background.

Every single Ferrari engine has its own particular soundtrack that makes it unique, and, of course, the Ferrari Roma Spider is no exception. In addition to the flat-plane crankshaft, which synchronises engine firing between its banks, and equal-length exhaust headers to equalise the sound, the Spider adopts the Ferrari Roma’s entire exhaust line that eliminates the two rear silencers in favour of new geometry for the by-pass valves. The continuous and progressive by-pass valve control underscores the engine sound and performance depending on the Manettino setting and driving situation.

LAST WORD

Undeniably, Ferrari’s engineers have achieved a remarkable feat by preserving the coupé’s exceptional handling and dynamics while retaining the Roma Spider’s delightful ride quality, and the absence of a fixed roof adds a new dimension to the driving experience. With its soft top, the Roma Spider’s distinctive style is the perfect homage to Ferrari’s heritage and is one of the marque’s most aesthetically pleasing cars ever crafted. 

While the Roma Spider maintains the Roma’s impressive performance, it adds a touch of composure to its character that will undoubtedly confirm its place in Ferrari history as one of the marque’s most versatile and fun to drive.

Report by BERNIE HELLBERG JR | Images © SCUDERIA FERRARI