These days, it’s hard to draw the line between luxury and disposable goods when the former are mostly designed to cash in on whatever’s the current trend. Therefore, it is a rare occasion for a new product to arrive with a refreshing timelessness about it. When trying to blend the modern with the classic, you usually end up with some nostalgia fueled re-hash of a previous product. Not so with the latest Ferrari Roma Spider (read: drop top), notable as the brand’s first front engine soft-top convertible in 54 years and yes, it was worth the wait. It retains all the beautiful flowing figure from the Roma coupe, but adds an open air driving experience that’s worth going all the way to Sardinia for 36 hours to try.
It’s impossible not to have time on the mind in Sardinia, home to a group of villages that comprise one of the five “Blue Zones” on Earth where life expectancy extends well into 100. Time, and the passage of it, is something you’re acutely aware of from the moment you arrive on Sardinia. Life moves slow here, especially in the less ritzy south of the island. Sadly, I wasn’t able to roll into one of the Blue Zone villages in the Roma Spider and ask one of the many centenarians what they think of Ferrari’s latest soft-top, but based on the countless turned heads, waves, honks, shouts and quickly whipped out cell phones witnessed during my afternoon drive, I think it’s safe to say the Sardinians approved.
How could they not? The Roma Spider is a stunning piece of design. Back to the current trend, and the non-trend du jour… if quiet luxury was a car, the Roma Spider would be it. Instead of a design exercise that could have easily gone awry with a folding hardtop, the Roma is made more elegant with a retractable soft top available in a choice of two bespoke fabrics in subdued tonal colors like gray, brown and black… and red – because, Ferrari. There’s no wrong choice here, but the more muted the color palette used inside and out, the more the Roma Spider veers into future classic territory. Leave the ostentatious paint colors and multi-colored interior options to Ferrari’s mid-engine supercars, as the Roma Spider isn’t about peacocking for attention, although you’ll surely get plenty of it whether you like it or not. This is a car primarily about unforgettable moments for its occupants. What makes the Roma Spider particularly appealing is all the ways in which it can deliver lasting memories. Those customers that actually drive it as much as possible (and as it’s not a limited production run, why wouldn’t you?) will be rewarded with a superb driving experience that strikes a near perfect balance between the all-day, every-day functionality of “Comfort” mode and the elevated, yet easily accessible performance of “Sport” mode. Switch the Manettino into “Race” mode, but opt for the “Bumpy Road” active suspension setting with the gearbox set to manual shifting and you’ll be treated to the best version of what the Roma Spider has to offer all around. Moments of brilliance come and go more quickly with this setup, but there are more of them, and they’re more visceral. Ferrari is winning with its ability to make the Roma Spider equally memorable pulling up to valet as it is at full tilt on a random mountain road.
As was the case with the Roma coupe, the Spider has highly communicative steering with information flowing clearly from the front wheels to your hands making driving it simultaneously a beautiful and thoughtless experience. If you should choose to be more liberal with pressure from your right foot around a corner, the rear will quickly break free (provided you’ve turned off all driver assists) and an easily controlled slide is induced, leaving a grin as wide as the rear tires on your face, and an inky black rubber signature on the asphalt. Whether you’re looking to precisely hunt apexes or get drifty, the Roma Spider is a joy when the road gets twisty. As is usually the case with great sport grand touring cars it’s the damping and more specifically the feeling of weight transfer allowed by it is “f-ing sublime”. There are other automakers working in this segment of vehicle that also do a wonderful job with adaptive suspension, but rarely have I come across one that deploys the right feel for a car so consistently as Ferrari.
The Roma Spider is not a singularly focused sports car, nor should it ride like one, so it doesn’t. During the launch program I heard the words “soft”, “squishy”, and “cushioned” thrown around by some other car journalists with regard to the ride. Okay, fair enough, but given the spirit of the Roma Spider it would be a huge problem if those words were firm, harsh or rigid. You wouldn’t want to spend a whole day walking cobblestone streets in Muaddi’s no matter how sexy they are, nor would you want to rock some orthopedic shoes. It’s about balance, and that’s what the best sport GT cars blend: style and comfort. This in turn yields a drive that is appealing to the widest range of customers and should remain relevant for decades to come. Think of any number of New Balances that were developed as running shoes, but now find themselves paired with a more formal fit.
In selling the Spider as another entry point into “La Nuova Dolce Vita” (the new good life) alongside the Roma coupe, Ferrari had to once again nail a blend of contemporary capability and classic experience. Mission accomplished… mostly. I definitely miss a big ‘ol yellow START/STOP button on a Ferrari steering wheel, as well as a physical center mounted tachometer, but these are the complaints of a career automotive critic and it’s not like Ferrari customers are going to skip buying a Roma Spider for any of these reasons, nor should you, if you have the means. I certainly wouldn’t. Ultimately the Roma Spider moves the needle in this segment, which in my opinion is what makes any vehicle particularly noteworthy. It has the razzle-dazzle that so many automakers chase by way of more power or improved dynamic capabilities, but ultimately miss finding in the end because they forget the simple reality that cars are merely vessels in which we traverse time and space, the great ones just leave us with more unforgettable moments.
