Ferrari Roma Spider review

Overview
What is it?
What’s new on the Spider?
He sounds interesting, I’ll look him up. Now back to the Ferrari, please.
Does the Roma Spider look as good in the flesh as it does in the images?
And from behind?
What's the verdict?
Bentley Continental GT Convertible
Porsche 911 Turbo
Aston Martin DB12
Driving
What is it like to drive?
How windswept will my hair get with the roof down?
And what happens if I, er, deactivate the assistance?
You mentioned the Spider was less fraught than the Coupe…
Interior
What is it like on the inside?
Buying
What should I be paying?

Overview

What is it?

The return of a signature format for Ferrari, after a lengthy hiatus. Ferrari says it hasn’t made a front-engined Spider since the 365 GTS4 – Daytona – in 1969. That’s one of the sharpest looking cars in the entire canon, so a Roma soft-top has big hand-made loafers to fill.

Sure, we could get caught up here in the logic-free world of Ferrari’s naming policy, and you may well wonder what makes a Spider a Spider and the conspicuously front-engined open-top Portofino… something else. Or the 812 GTS or 575 Superamerica, for that matter. Whatever, Ferrari has fallen out of love with the retractable hard-top, and decided that a classic canvas roof is the way to go for the Roma convertible. Sorry, Spider.

We should also add that the new car finds itself in a market sector that’s populated by some of the world’s most desirable cars. We’re looking at you Aston Martin DB12, Bentley Continental GTC, Mercedes-AMG SL and Porsche 911 Turbo. Not one of them compromised by losing their heads.

What’s new on the Spider?

Well, the Portofino is no longer ‘available to order’, to use the Ferrari vernacular (discontinued sounds too pedestrian, right?). Although that car managed to disguise its bulky folding roof better than most, it seems that fickle fashion has had its way with a solution that was once all the rage but now seems frightfully early Noughties. (NB: a folding hardtop first appeared on the Peugeot 401 Eclipse in 1934, a system patented by French designer, engineer, dentist, and – get this – war hero Georges Paulin. But we digress.)

He sounds interesting, I’ll look him up. Now back to the Ferrari, please.

The Roma Spider features a classic canvas roof with five layers for improved refinement and a special weave for visual enhancement. Different colour combinations are available, exemplifying the car’s character: you can dial up the Riviera hustler look or opt for or a more technical, racy one which, Ferrari says, has an iridescent red finish that gives the roof a 3D effect.

The sills are new, there are reinforced structural elements at the rear, and an integrated wind deflector in the +2 seating compartment minimises turbulence inside. This has a centre duct and technically qualifies as an aerodynamic device. The roof disappears in 13.5 seconds at speeds up to 50mph. The weight penalty overall is a modest 84kg.

Does the Roma Spider look as good in the flesh as it does in the images?

Absolutely. In fact, roof down, the Spider might even be prettier than the coupe. Ferrari, perhaps riskily, invokes the spirit of la dolce vita around this car, but there’s no question it’s a classy, glamorous looking thing. We’ve got used to the perforated, body-coloured grille and chiselled nose, but the camera sensor looks like a crude after-thought. Surely they could have integrated that more successfully? It stands out all the more given that Ferrari’s Centro Stile has worked so hard to minimise everything else. The front wings and bonnet hump are evocative.

And from behind?

We could look at the view across the rear three-quarters all day long. There’s a genuine barchetta feel from some angles (echoing the late Forties 166 MM, Ferrari’s first big hit). The coupe’s rear screen has been modified so it folds away beneath the tonneau cover when the roof is lowered. Advanced lighting tech gives the Roma Spider a fresh graphic dynamism at the rear, although the prominence of the head-rests spoils the silhouette’s purity a little.

There’s exterior aero efficiency, too, thanks to vortex generators and a deployable rear spoiler, with Low Drag, Medium Downforce and High Downforce settings. The amounts generated are modest by Ferrari standards, but no-one is ever going to track day their Roma Spider. Are they?

This is truly a Ferrari for all seasons. Rather than compromising it, the absence of a fixed roof actually adds another dimension. Reverting to an old-school soft-top plays perfectly to the Roma’s stylistic strengths, and as modernist as it is, this is as pretty a car as Ferrari has ever made. Just think about that for a moment.

And although it’s still hugely fast, the Spider is less highly strung than the Coupe. Clever aero suppresses the worst of the buffeting when the roof’s down, but you’re less inclined to drive it as hard as the Coupe anyway. No Ferrari is relaxed as such, but the Roma Spider arguably does its best work at a less frenzied pace. The interior is lovely, too, and the previously frustrating HMI has improved.

All in all, this is a fabulously seductive car, a little softer in character but still laser-focused in its intent.

Driving

What is it like to drive?

Like all contemporary Ferraris, the Roma Spider does things that would have seemed space-age back in the day. The engine is a singularly impressive achievement, but always evolving. As on the coupe, the 3.9-litre twin turbo V8 has different cams, a revised catalytic converter and gas particulate filter. A reworked exhaust uses an oval-shaped flap rather than a traditional silencer, and there are more aggressive valve lift profiles on intake and exhaust. The oil pump also receives an upgrade for the Roma Spider, for smoother cold starts.

Thermal efficiency is improved, but it also sounds more soulful here than ever. Ferrari has worked hard to reduce boominess at speed, an issue that can afflict convertibles. It’s not as sonorous as some classic Ferrari V8s, but then few things are.

How windswept will my hair get with the roof down?

The wind deflector in the +2 area pops into position by pressing a button on the centre tunnel (but has to be pushed back into place manually, imagine that). Ferrari says it ran a lot of CFD and wind tunnel sessions to optimise it. It reduces turbulence in the cabin noticeably, adding to the ‘bubble’ effect Ferrari claims for the car overall. A 5mm spoiler on the windscreen header rail helps here, too.

Hardware and software are perfectly matched. Variable Boost Management adjusts torque delivery to suit whichever gear you’re in, and the Roma Spider punches hard even in sixth or seventh gear. Throttle response is instant, the chassis largely unflappable. Drive modes span Wet, Comfort, Sport, Race and ESC-Off, in the now well-established Ferrari manner. This is backed up by the Ferrari Dynamic Enhancer – which adjusts brake pressure on whichever wheel needs it and works only in Race mode – alongside the regular stability system and V6.0 of side slip control.

And what happens if I, er, deactivate the assistance?

Turn everything off and the Roma Spider is as slidey as you’d expect a rear drive car with north of 600bhp to be, but amusing rather than sketchy on the limit. In the dry, at least, on warm tarmac. Top speed is 198mph, 62mph takes 3.4 seconds, 124mph 9.7s. It’s fast.

The gearbox is derived from the eight-speed dual-shift one in the SF90 Stradale. It’s improved in every measure from the previous incarnation: it’s lighter, faster, more efficient, has a more powerful ECU, and is better integrated with the engine software. It also gains a conventional reverse gear. There are longer ratios in seventh and eighth to reduce fuel consumption, emissions and to give the Spider a longer-legged, more GT-appropriate gait. It’s a truly world-class set-up, and the large shifting paddles on the column mean you’re always on top of things even with some lock applied.

You mentioned the Spider was less fraught than the Coupe…

The steering is linear and less frenetic than on other Ferraris, the ride quality supple and compliant. Although it feels a little soft initially, body control is terrific and the Spider is always interactive and entertaining. Subtle alterations to its suspension kinematics have resulted in a car with even more bandwidth than the Coupe.

The brakes use 390mm diameter discs upfront; they’re potent but we’d like more feel in the initial phase. Our car was wearing bespoke Bridgestones, and this is another Ferrari whose character is notably altered by the rubber it’s wearing. It’s likely to feel pointier on Michelins, especially on British tarmac. It’s amazing how differently these cars can behave on our, erm, challenging road surfaces. It pays to monitor tyre temp and pressures properly.

Interior

What is it like on the inside?

Inside, Ferrari’s bold adventures in the world of HMI continue. The main instrument display is a configurable 16in curved HD screen with some seriously hi-def graphics. As before, you can configure it in various ways, but almost always end up having the rev counter front and centre.

Audio and other functions are navigated via a capacitive touchpad on the right hand spar of the wheel, with another on the left to flick through temperature, oil pressure et al. The system has been de-bugged since the Roma arrived in 2020 and seems to be subject to constant fettling, if a Ferrari insider is to be believed. Now you get a little extra under-thumb ‘zizz’ to reinforce whatever it is you’re doing.

We admire the commitment to innovation but, as ever, some things are just better done using physical buttons rather than jabbing at a screen or trying to persuade your thumbs to get onboard.

The long-serving wheel-mounted manettino remains tangible and elegant proof of this thesis. Where it once had things to itself, it’s now surrounded by myriad other buttons. ADAS – advanced driving assist systems, including lane assist and its associated (dys)functionality – arrives in the Spider. Urgh. It’s a legal requirement as of 2024 but there are shortcuts in the Spider to switch it all off. And believe us, you’ll want to, unless you like being serenaded by various warning chimes.

Fortunately, audio and air con are controlled via a central screen, as well as providing the Apple CarPlay or Android interface. It’s odds-on that they’ll do most of the connectivity heavy lifting. And we love the gear selector panel that mimics the open gate of classic Ferrari manuals. These are the elements drivers will interact with most often.

Buying

What should I be paying?

Even in this stratospheric sector, buying a Ferrari demands deeper-than-usual pockets. The Roma Spider costs £210,313 – before options – a £28k chunk more than the coupe. Perhaps these sorts of figures don’t register with the customer base, but very rich people didn’t get that way by flinging their money around willy-nilly. That said, the Conti GTC (from £201,800) and Porsche 911 Turbo S cabrio (from £190,600) are similar money, before digging into the options.

Which is always worth doing, particularly on a Ferrari. Some examples, then. A ‘special colour’ is £7,601. Watch those big kerbs: 20in forged diamond wheels are £4,931. Daytona style seats are £3,030. The passenger display is £3,595. It gets juicier: go completely off-piste and choose an ‘on demand special colour’ and it’ll cost £35,952.

This takes us into the world of personalisation, territory that all the heavy hitters have successfully scoped out and charge accordingly for. A Roma Spider costing half a million quid is surely possible. We’d sure like to see it.

Like other Ferraris, this one comes with a four-year warranty (in the UK, three years elsewhere), and a seven-year Genuine Maintenance package that covers all routine servicing. Ferraris aren’t cheap to run so this is a good thing indeed. Fuel consumption is 24.9mpg combined, emissions 258g/km.

Ferrari’s front-engined GTs are not depreciation-proof, unlike some of their siblings. But the Roma seems to be holding up. Most two-year old cars, with circa 6,000 miles, are around the £170-175 mark, which is pretty solid, and we’d expect the Spider to fare even better.