Ferrari Roma

The above photo is amazing.  Not because of the car so much as because we see Rome's Spanish Steps utterly deserted -- something I thought was was impossible.  I'm sure the Rome police and perhaps even the Carabinieri were in cahoots with Ferrari publicists to pull off this miracle.

As for the car, it's Ferrari's new Roma coupé that will be available Summer 2020.  Ferrari's website announcement is here, and a car magazine's reaction is here.

For reasons not at all rational, I'm not a Ferrari fan: never was one.  But the Ferraris I like best are the custom-bodied ones of the late 1940s and the 1950s.  Which is why I am pleased to see the Roma.  It strikes me as being a reasonable 2020 version of, say, a 1953 Ferrari by Touring, Vignale or Ghia

Gallery

This front view shows the classic egg-crate grille bar pattern, a nice touch.  The running lights slashed across the headlight assemblies is another very nice detail -- all too often in recent years on other brands these has assumed twisted, almost bizarre shapes.  I am less happy with the clichéd detailing below the grille.

Design-wise, I much prefer front-mounted engines to the mid-engine layout.  In part this is due to the long hood.  But in practical terms, mid-engine sports cars tend to lack storage space for packages, luggage and such.  (I once owned a Porsche 914, so I know this from personal experience.)  The general appearance of the Roma is that of a taut, well-proportioned sporting coupé.

In this era of exaggerated sheet metal sculpting and zig-zag detailing, the Roma comes off as comparatively constrained, even though it doesn't totally escape that styling fad.  Rear end elements are almost all logical -- aside, perhaps, from the dished panel below the tail lights that does offer relief from potentially too much roundedness.  The bulged rear fender area is appropriate for a powerful, rear wheel drive sports car.