The new twin-turbo V8 Ferrari Roma Spider offers the ultimate top-down driving experience.
A timelessly elegant, high-performance addition to the prancing pony lineup, the Ferrari Roma Spider is a contemporary take on the chic, pleasure-seeking Italian lifestyle of the 1950s and 60s. The new spider carries over the proportions, volumes and specifications of the Ferrari Roma’s hugely successful V8 2+ concept, but what makes it so striking is the adoption of a soft top, a solution making a welcome return to range on a front-engined car 54 years after the 1969 365 GTS4.
Designed by the Ferrari Styling Centre headed by Flavio Manzoni, the Ferrari Roma Spider aims to move the “La Nuova Dolce Vita” concept beyond city limits for elegant, carefree driving ‘en plein air’. This 2+ spider boasts a sophisticated fabric soft top, which is designed not just to maintain, but to enhance the flawless proportions of the coupé on which it is based without modifying that car’s elegantly flowing silhouette.
On a functional level, the Spider’s soft top deploys in just 13.5 seconds and can be actioned at up to 60 km/h. The fact that it is so compact also yields a larger boot and boosts the car’s versatility, while a new, patented wind deflector integrated into the backrest of the rear bench can be deployed by a button on the central tunnel, guaranteeing exceptional in-car occupant comfort without taking up any space in the car.
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Unlike the more usual basic fabrics seen on most convertibles, a new material has been used for the Ferrari Roma Spider’s soft-top, giving it a sophisticated air. Special fabric weaves were selected and developed in colour combinations that highlight the car’s twin souls, one more elegant and the other sportier. The bespoke finish with two-tone weave draws on a palette of four colours highlighting the refined, haute couture nature of the fabric. The optional technical fabric developed specifically for this car gives it a sporty yet very sophisticated allure with an innovative weave creating an extremely striking iridescent red finish that further enhances the roof’s 3D surface.
The Ferrari Roma Spider retains the Ferrari Roma’s excellent dynamic characteristics: it boasts a best-in-class weight/power ratio thanks not only to its soft top but also to its all-aluminium chassis and 620 cv V8, which is coupled with Ferrari’s universally-acclaimed 8-speed DCT known for its incredibly fast shift times as well as excellent standards of comfort and mechanical efficiency. The 3,855 cc power unit can punch out 620 cv at 7,500 rpm, the equivalent of 161 cv/l, which it combines with the flexibility of low-end pick-up, thanks to 80% of the torque being available at just 1900 rpm.
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The stylistic approach for the Ferrari Roma Spider’s exterior centres around a clean design and absolute symbiosis between its various elements. Its harmonious proportions and pure, elegant volumes are very much in line with Ferrari’s front-engined GT tradition. That said, the designers have created a modern take on those classic proportions, giving the car a sophisticated, contemporary style.
The long front bonnet underscores the spare silhouette of the flanks, lending a sense of sleekness to the entire body and a dynamic look. The sober, spare front of the car looks as if it were sculpted from a single block of metal, creating an overhanging, shark nose effect.
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Engine cooling is guaranteed by the perforated surfaces, only where strictly necessary, creating a new interpretation of the grille concept, which is finished in the same colour as the bodywork, rendering it seamless with the styling. The edges of the front grille flow into two linear, full-LED headlights which lend the front of the car a distinctive character all of its own. They are traversed by a horizontal DRL strip that hints at the structure beneath the car’s skin, an element that brings a sense of tension to the entire circumference of the car.
The fastback cabin volume is compact and set back, ending in a subtle nolder beneath which the designers have created a modern take on the signature Ferrari tail. The Ferrari Roma Spider’s long rear overhang, which is a characteristic of the Ferraris of the 1950s and 60s, has been re-proportioned here, resulting in a low, compact volume that hugs the rear axle.
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For the Ferrari Roma Spider’s cabin, the Ferrari Styling Centre designers took the same approach to volumes and forms introduced on the Ferrari Roma. Two separate spaces, one each for driver and passenger, were created in an evolution of the dual cockpit concept, which has its roots deep in the marque’s history with cars from the 1970s. The innovative look of this dual cockpit was achieved by extending the philosophy applied to the dash to the entire cabin. Hence, the vision of two modules that wrap around the driver and passenger and that extend and integrate with the two rear seats.
The technology adopted is derived from the Ferrari Roma: the digital instrument cluster is protected by an anti-glare binnacle that extends out naturally from the dash. The passenger has an optional display that allows them to share the driving information. An 8.4-inch central display set between the two cockpits and partly floating between the dashboard and tunnel incorporates the other infotainment and climate control functions.
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The F1 gearbox controls have been set into a modern metal plate that references the iconic gear lever gate. In the Ferrari Roma Spider, this is in the centre of the tunnel and is inclined to make it easier for the driver to reach and see.
The steering wheel’s HMI is a further honed and refined version of that seen on the Ferrari Roma with touch controls on its spokes, while the Engine Start button is now also backlit in red to underscore the thrill of the moment the iconic Ferrari twin-turbo springs to life.
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