Ferrari Sticks To It Guns With The Swoopy Roma Supercar And The World Is All The Better For It

• The Ferrari Roma has a 612PS 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8 mounted ahead of the cabin.
• 0-100 kmph comes up in 3.4 seconds ,0-200 kmph in 9.3 seconds -- ultimately leading to a top speed of 320kmph.
• The Roma is the fifth offering from Ferrari for this year.
• It will pose a threat to the Aston Martin Vantage and the Mercedes-AMG GT.

We have said this before: Ferrari is ace when it comes to product secrecy and hiding their test mules from the paparazzi. When we were least expecting, Ferrari dropped an all-new supercar and broke the internet, again. Meet the Roma, a 3.9-litre front-mid-engined V8 2+2 coupe christened after the capital city of Italy. Ferrari claims the new supercar fuses timeless design with unparalleled driving dynamics. Here’s what all the fuss is about:

First things first, mounted way back under the the swooping bonnet is a 3.9-litre turbocharged V8 punching out 612PS (12PS more than the Portofino)and 760Nm of twist. What’s more striking is Ferrari’s decision to send these figures to the rear with an 8-speed DCT straight out of the SF90. In case you’re already scouring for the numbers, the 0-100kmph comes up 3.4 seconds and the 200kmph shows up in 9.3 seconds. Provided you have the cojones, 320kmph is purely doable.

At 2670mm, the Roma and the Portofino have the same wheelbase but the former has a smaller footprint than the California successor. This also results in a dry weight of 1472kg, making it around 75kg lighter than the Portofino.

So what we have here is not only a faster and lighter car but another Ferrari which sports a distinct design language that harks back to some of the big names from the bygone eras. The Roma features a clean design with flowing lines and flush door handles. The side profile is our favourite angle for the new prancing horse, and the car looks absolutely stunning with a long hood and a stubby rear (cue: Jaguar F-Type).

The cabin is a breath of fresh air from the recent crop of Fezzas. The whole layout is novel, with differentiation for the front occupants. Some highlights include a new steering wheel (loaded with toggles and Manettino), and three displays (instrument cluster, portrait centre display and a passenger display), along with an automatic gear selector that looks somewhat like a gate-shifter.

Ferrari is still keeping further details and the price close to its heart but the Roma’s targets include the Aston Martin Vantage and the Mercedes-AMG GT. The Roma is also the fifth model to debut from Maranello this year after the F8 Tributo, F8 Tributo Spider, 812 GTS, and the 1000PS SF90 Stradale. That's quite a lot for a niche carmaker, leave alone a supercar manufacturer like Ferrari.