Ferrari just revealed a new model today at a special event in Italy's capital. The Roma, named for that city, is the company's fifth new model this year, and it's a new model that seems to fit in between the F8 Tributo and the Portofino convertible.
This is an elegant design that's a big departure from any other current Ferrari. Instead of using a knife set or video game space ships for inspiration, this is much more like classic Italian sports cars of the 1950s and 1960s.
It's still an amazingly sleek design, with a nose that's pointy and curvaceous at the same time. With the sheet metal winding in lines that flow back from the wraparound headlights all the way into the tail and bulging rear fenders over widely set rear tires, this is clearly Ferrari but equally clearly something new. It's a front-engine car like the Portofino, and the automaker calls it a "2+" suggesting there may be some small seats in the back.
The inside, too, is different from any other current Ferrari. The sleek, divided cockpit is marked by the big center screen and the steering wheel that looks to be from the SF90 Stradale. There's a small display for the passenger, a growing trend in high-end performance cars, and Ferrari has made what looks to be the controls for the dual-clutch transmission look like the brand's much-loved manual transmission shift gate.
Ferrari's not big on giving us details of the Roma yet, but has said that it'll come with the 3.9L twin-turbo V8 that the company has been using since 2014. Here, it'll make 611 hp, putting it between the 592 hp of the Portofino and the 710 hp of the F8. How much closer it is to the Portofino shows you where this one sits in the brand's portfolio. The transmission will be the new eight-speed DCT that was introduced in the SF90.
No word on when we'll see more of the Roma, but we'll let you know when Ferrari decides to reveal more info about this latest prancing horse.
