Uploaded November 2019 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
The Ferrari Roma is both a breath of fresh air and a return to form for Ferrari. It just made its debut at an event in Rome, and It shakes off the aggressive sheet metal of their current lineup and takes a more subtle approach with its surfacing. It borrows heavily from the limited series SP line though the Roma has a few tricks up its sleeve. Let’s take a look.
There are a few similarities between them up front. The headlights have a DRL streak running through them. It’s doing a few things for this area of the car. Firstly, this strip frames the lighting unit. It’s composed of two rectangular bulbs placed on different levels that sink into the bumper. It’s encased in a glass housing, but from most angles it’s completely transparent. This is where the DRL comes into play. It meets the rest of the body, keeping everything uniform while maximizing the depth of the headlamps. It also does its part in making the car wider and more imposing. There’s an implied line running from the edge of the hood to the headlamp. We’ll go through what this line does for the car a bit later, but for now we’ll focus on how it continues into the DRL. Even though the two don’t actually connect, the implied line gives the illusion of a continuous line. The body appears to kick up over nothing, but there’s actually a panel here. It’s ever so slightly ajar to allow air to flow through. Lastly, it initiates a panel gap right in front of the wheel well. What sets this one apart is how it folds under the hood and into the body like origami, creating a discreet air intake.
The grille sports an unusual exploded lattice pattern. The slats start off small at either side and get larger until it resembles the egg crate grille that’s on their grand tourers. Ferrari says it only opens up when necessary for cooling. It also draws the eye to the lip of the car. The grille wafts up until it gets cut off by the opposing angle of the hood, and this is highlighted by the curvature of the lip. The SP influences really comes through on the front splitter. Both cars have pronounced front splitters, but the one on the Roma is REALLY pronounced. Two columns provide a strong foundation to the flowing, experimental upper half while breaking up the void down below. A sliver of color establishes the front clip down here and makes the entire car feel lower to the ground.
The silhouette of the car is a graceful, sweeping, uninterrupted line. No floating pillar trickery to pull you away. No two-tone roof to disrupt it. Just a smoothly raked cabin accented with some excellent brightwork. The chrome doesn’t line the entire window. It simply guides your eye from the A-pillar to the C-pillar. It kicks up as the rear shoulder becomes more aggressive. Moving down, we can see that the body rolls inward right above the flush door handle to create a highlight that spans the length of the body. It adds a line without really adding a line. The body also gets thinner, which creates the bottle shape when it meets the haunch. The crease coming from the front wheel well really sells it. It pops out from the body roll and just about meets the shoulder haunches. This is communicated to us by how the light spills into it. It grabs about as much as the shoulder and pops out when compared to the narrowing section right above it. The line dwindles. Light gradually fades away, which helps us better perceive the narrowing. The front splitter finds new life here as a rocker panel, which grounds the side view much like it does for the front. Last, but certainly not least, we need to talk about this turn signal. Ferrari didn’t frame it into the body or integrate it into the mirror. It’s just an honest indicator, and it helps that it’s the same size and shape as the lug nuts.
The rear end is punctuated by a pinched decklid that visually lengthens the car. Ferrari’s circular quad headlights conform to it and the pops of bright color bring your eye across. Above this we see another part of the active aero. This panel the Ferrari wordmark rests on is really a self deploying spoiler that pops out to provide additional downforce. The lettering placement is interesting too. Historically, It’s always occupied a flat surface on the deck while the badge was on another surface underneath. This trend continues onto their current crop of cars, though a few of them have bucked the trend. The 812 pushes it above the back window while the GTC makes due with just the horse. This car takes after the latter. It’s deck isn’t as harsh here, so the additional separation gives both it and the badge space.
In this age of overwrought designs, the Ferrari Roma is a breath of fresh air. It pays homage to Ferraris of the 50s and 60s while also introducing new elements into Ferrari’s ethos. Let’s just hope this is a sign of things to come.
The Ferrari Roma is both a breath of fresh air and a return to form for Ferrari. It just made its debut at an event in Rome, and It shakes off the aggressive sheet metal of their current lineup and takes a more subtle approach with its surfacing. It borrows heavily from the limited series SP line though the Roma has a few tricks up its sleeve. Let’s take a look.
There are a few similarities between them up front. The headlights have a DRL streak running through them. It’s doing a few things for this area of the car. Firstly, this strip frames the lighting unit. It’s composed of two rectangular bulbs placed on different levels that sink into the bumper. It’s encased in a glass housing, but from most angles it’s completely transparent. This is where the DRL comes into play. It meets the rest of the body, keeping everything uniform while maximizing the depth of the headlamps. It also does its part in making the car wider and more imposing. There’s an implied line running from the edge of the hood to the headlamp. We’ll go through what this line does for the car a bit later, but for now we’ll focus on how it continues into the DRL. Even though the two don’t actually connect, the implied line gives the illusion of a continuous line. The body appears to kick up over nothing, but there’s actually a panel here. It’s ever so slightly ajar to allow air to flow through. Lastly, it initiates a panel gap right in front of the wheel well. What sets this one apart is how it folds under the hood and into the body like origami, creating a discreet air intake.
The grille sports an unusual exploded lattice pattern. The slats start off small at either side and get larger until it resembles the egg crate grille that’s on their grand tourers. Ferrari says it only opens up when necessary for cooling. It also draws the eye to the lip of the car. The grille wafts up until it gets cut off by the opposing angle of the hood, and this is highlighted by the curvature of the lip. The SP influences really comes through on the front splitter. Both cars have pronounced front splitters, but the one on the Roma is REALLY pronounced. Two columns provide a strong foundation to the flowing, experimental upper half while breaking up the void down below. A sliver of color establishes the front clip down here and makes the entire car feel lower to the ground.
The silhouette of the car is a graceful, sweeping, uninterrupted line. No floating pillar trickery to pull you away. No two-tone roof to disrupt it. Just a smoothly raked cabin accented with some excellent brightwork. The chrome doesn’t line the entire window. It simply guides your eye from the A-pillar to the C-pillar. It kicks up as the rear shoulder becomes more aggressive. Moving down, we can see that the body rolls inward right above the flush door handle to create a highlight that spans the length of the body. It adds a line without really adding a line. The body also gets thinner, which creates the bottle shape when it meets the haunch. The crease coming from the front wheel well really sells it. It pops out from the body roll and just about meets the shoulder haunches. This is communicated to us by how the light spills into it. It grabs about as much as the shoulder and pops out when compared to the narrowing section right above it. The line dwindles. Light gradually fades away, which helps us better perceive the narrowing. The front splitter finds new life here as a rocker panel, which grounds the side view much like it does for the front. Last, but certainly not least, we need to talk about this turn signal. Ferrari didn’t frame it into the body or integrate it into the mirror. It’s just an honest indicator, and it helps that it’s the same size and shape as the lug nuts.
The rear end is punctuated by a pinched decklid that visually lengthens the car. Ferrari’s circular quad headlights conform to it and the pops of bright color bring your eye across. Above this we see another part of the active aero. This panel the Ferrari wordmark rests on is really a self deploying spoiler that pops out to provide additional downforce. The lettering placement is interesting too. Historically, It’s always occupied a flat surface on the deck while the badge was on another surface underneath. This trend continues onto their current crop of cars, though a few of them have bucked the trend. The 812 pushes it above the back window while the GTC makes due with just the horse. This car takes after the latter. It’s deck isn’t as harsh here, so the additional separation gives both it and the badge space.
In this age of overwrought designs, the Ferrari Roma is a breath of fresh air. It pays homage to Ferraris of the 50s and 60s while also introducing new elements into Ferrari’s ethos. Let’s just hope this is a sign of things to come.
