Ferrari built the Roma to sell to people who would not otherwise buy a Ferrari at all.
The Ferrari Roma is a front-engined, four-seat coupe styled around a design language Ferrari calls La Nuova Dolce Vita, built to draw a nod where a mid-engined Ferrari draws a crowd. Nearly 70% of its buyers were new to the brand, and renters book it for a closing dinner or a date night where that kind of crowd would be the wrong note.
The pull builds steadily from low revs and the ride stays supple and quiet over rough pavement, letting only a soft patter through rather than a harsh jolt. The Ferrari Roma is the one to book when you want the car without the attention a red mid-engined Ferrari draws.
The Ferrari Roma suits a renter who wants a Ferrari without the attention a red mid-engined car draws. It is the choice for a closing dinner, a date night, or a first Ferrari rental for someone nervous about the badge's reputation. Two adults ride up front in real comfort, with the rear seats functioning more as a shelf for bags than a true second row. The steering is light and immediate, quick enough on turn-in that a first-time driver notices it right away, and reviewers describe the ride as supple and quiet even over rough pavement, more genuinely comfortable than most Ferraris in this price range.
Ferrari offered the Roma in two body styles, the fixed roof coupe and the fabric roofed Roma Spider that followed it. There is no track version and no higher output model. We run the coupe.
The Ferrari Roma is the fixed roof coupe and the car in our fleet. A 3.9 liter twin turbo V8 makes 612 hp through an 8-speed dual clutch gearbox, and it is the lighter of the two body styles. The cabin puts the driver low behind a dual cockpit dashboard with a curved digital display ahead. No wing, no side vents, no badge shouting about output.
The Ferrari Roma Spider is the convertible and it is not in our fleet. It swaps the fixed roof for a fabric top that folds in 13.5 seconds at up to 37 mph, and keeps the same 612 hp V8, the same 8-speed gearbox and the same cabin. The added weight for the roof mechanism blunts the coupe's edge slightly without changing its character.