Ferrari Roma: taking us back to the Sixties
The Ferrari Roma shows off the Italian sports-car marque’s gentler and more elegant side.


The “newest stallion in Maranello’s stables” is “the most beautiful Ferrari built in decades”, says Jared Zaugg on Maxim. The Roma represents “a return to the elegance of the 1960s grand tourers”, whose original purpose was to “embody elegance, luxury, power and performance in the most balanced way possible”. There is nothing “brutal” about the Roma’s design: it’s smooth, but evocative, indicating “reserved aggression ready to be unleashed if necessary” while remaining “incredibly harmonious to the overall sophistication”.
On the road, the Roma’s 4.0-litre, twin-turbo V8 delivers 611 bhp and jolts you from rest to 62mph in just 3.4 seconds. But unlike with previous Ferraris, “you only get 560 torques. That’s still a lot, but it’s not so much that you immediately hit a tree,” says Jeremy Clarkson in The Sunday Times. When you put your foot down “there’s a combination of sound and torque-driven fury, it’s like you’ve dived head first into a vat of dopamine after drinking three pints of serotonin”. For years Ferrari has made cars that have been “way too big, way too powerful and really only suitable for the rich and famous in Saudi Arabia”. Driving one in Britain “is like trying to ride a cow through your local antiques shop”. Not the Roma. “It’s elegant and subtle and pretty and fast and surprisingly practical.”
The seats are “all-day comfortable” and the interior is “an easy and pleasant place in which to while away the miles”, says Ben Miller in Car. The ride is “surprisingly sweet for such a poised, responsive car” too. It’s easy to push the car to its limits, “safe in the knowledge” that the it “won’t be skittled off-line or caught out by mid-corner bumps”. And in race mode, “the Roma covers ground at a breathtaking rate… Gearshifts are complete before you know you’ve asked for them”.
MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
The Roma is not as fast or ferocious “as a “proper supercar”, says Sam Sheehan on Piston Heads. But it still delivers “many of the same sensations… it remains a mesmeric super-GT”.
Get the latest financial news, insights and expert analysis from our award-winning MoneyWeek team, to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.
Nic studied for a BA in journalism at Cardiff University, and has an MA in magazine journalism from City University. She has previously worked for MoneyWeek.
-
Was Margaret Thatcher great for Britain?
The 'Iron Lady’ would be celebrating her 100th birthday this month. Margaret Thatcher rose to power in 1979 as the first ever female prime minister and was one of the most controversial leaders in history, but how did her policies shape today’s finances?
-
Pierre-Édouard Stérin wants to make France great again
Conservative billionaire Pierre-Édouard Stérin is seeking to lead a political and spiritual renaissance across the Channel. The planning looks meticulous
-
Pinewood Technologies: a drive for growth
Pinewood Technologies’ platform is one of the best in the business. Investors should buy in
-
'EV maker Faraday Future will crash'
Faraday Future Intelligent Electric is failing dismally to live up to its name, says Matthew Partridge
-
8 of the best houses for sale with follies
The best houses for sale with follies in the grounds – from a five-storey Victorian Gothic tower in Tonbridge, Kent, to a former mill in Oxfordshire with gardens that include a folly on an island in a lake
-
Sotheby’s fishes for art collectors – will it succeed?
Sotheby’s is seeking to restore confidence in the market after landing Leonard Lauder's art collection, including Gustav Klimt's Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer
-
Review: The Lakes by Yoo – luxury living in the Cotswolds
Travel The Lakes by Yoo combines a luxury hotel stay with the convenience of a holiday rental in a gorgeous lakeside setting
-
8 of the best houses for sale with separate accommodation
The best houses for sale with separate accommodation – from a converted 17th-century threshing barn in Monmouthshire, to a Grade II-listed Queen Anne house in North Yorkshire with four apartments in the stable block
-
Review: Bequia Beach Hotel – nostalgic fun in the Caribbean
Travel Bequia Beach Hotel on the island of Bequia in St Vincent and the Grenadines is a resort with personality that is as luxurious as it is playful
-
8 of the best properties for sale with orangeries
From a converted Victorian Catholic school with a chapel in Kingston Upon Thames to a 12-acre country estate with mature gardens and a lake in Nantwich, Cheshire, we look at some of the best properties for sale with orangeries