JOHANNESBURG - Ferrari is taking a small step outside of its comfort zone with the new Roma, which made its South African debut on Tuesday night.
Priced at R4 972 000, the Roma is positioned above the Portofino and below the F8 Tributo, but unlike its siblings this car’s ambitions are more along the lines of a grand tourer than an outright supercar. In fact, Ferrari’s marketing chief Enrico Galliera has actually admitted that the car will appeal to those who have never driven a sports car, and even those who might be afraid of one, according to Autocar.
Yet while it might be a little more elegant and practical than you’d expect from the Prancing Horse, there is nothing tame about its performance credentials.
The Roma is powered by a 3855cc turbocharged V8 engine that thunders out 456kW between 5750 and 7500 rpm, and 760Nm from the 3000 mark. That’s sufficient, says Ferrari, to get the sports car from zero to 100km/h in 3.4 seconds and to 200km/h in 9.3 seconds, while the top speed is listed at 320km/h. Power goes to the back wheels through an eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox.
As you’d expect, the car also has some advanced aerodynamic and chassis systems, including an active rear spoiler integrated into the rear screen, Ferrari Dynamic Enhancer, which controls yaw angle by hydraulically adjusting brake pressure at the callipers, and Side Slip Control 6.0, which is fitted to a Ferrari GT car for the first time.
The Roma’s cabin is highly digitised as well as luxurious, featuring a digital instrument cluster as well as a vertical central screen and new passenger display. Furthermore, the new Ferrari Key with ‘Comfort Access’ function allows the driver to open the car by touching a button next to the flush handle in the door.
The car’s importer Scuderia South Africa is also seeking to create a more digitally connected experience for its clients, as Group COO Jan Ungerer explains:
“Considering local market conditions, we have opted to revolutionise the way in which we engage with our esteemed customers and prospects by embracing the ever-evolving digital space.
“In addition, the recently launched MyFerrari App was created specifically to provide Ferrari clients with features and services that interface directly with Maranello. This will allow clients to access to the entire Ferrari Universe at their fingertips.”