The Easter weekend is great, isn’t it? Schools are off, work slows down and there’s a four-day weekend to lean into. I was lucky enough to spend this year’s with the Ferrari Roma Spider. I’ll put my cards on the table early here: I’m a big fan of Ferrari’s modern GT. In coupe form, it offers the poise and performance you’d expect, with enough luxury to make it – if you’re lucky enough – into a daily driver. Surely chopping the roof of wouldn’t compromise the experience, but would only elevate it? There was only one way to find out. With trips here there an everywhere booked in for the long weekend, 850 miles would reveal all.
First things first, it’s hard to find the Ferrari Roma Spider disagreeable to look at. The recent return of fabric roofs, replacing folding hardtops, add a certain je ne sais quois. It somehow presents the Roma in a softer light and the specification of the model tested appears, to me at least, perfect. It certainly presents itself in a more relaxed manner than its most recent forebear, the Ferrari Portofino M.
My inner child was delighted that this model came in Rosso Portofino, a wonderful shade of dark red. Whilst the world has slowly moved away from red Ferraris, to me there’s no other colour to consider.
With such cars, aesthetics absolutely matter and the Ferrari Roma Spider comprehensively delivers. Beauty, however, is only skin deep. Whilst Ferraris can play into your posing instincts, the driving experience is front and centre. With a twin-turbo charged 3.9-litre V8, a multi-faceted eight-speed gearbox and imposing carbon fibre paddles which demand you use them, there’s no mistaking Ferrari’s intent with the Roma Spider.
A bit of sunshine leant a helping hand, but all the ingredients were there…
Living with the Ferrari Roma Spider
There’s more to the Roma Spider than just a lopped off roof. The wind deflector in the rear, deployed from the backbench of the rear seats, received as much aero engineering at Maranello as any exterior component. Pulling away from Ferrari’s northern Europe HQ in Slough and off onto the M4, it’s remarkable how little buffeting there is in the cabin even at 70mph.
The only dent in the GT credentials is the size of the boot, particularly with the roof down. You’re best using the rear seats for auxiliary storage. Besides, with the wind deflector in place you can’t have anyone in the rear anyway.
That said, we did manage a family excursion to Arundel in it. Two adults in the front, two kids in the back. It was a touch cramped – thankfully the steering wheel has just about the most adjustability I’ve found with any steering wheel – but it was fine for an hour or so. This is why it’s worth preserving the Roma as a 2+2. If you’ve got kids, you can stick them in the back and make it work. You’ll want to take every opportunity to drive it, so the flexibility is handy.
Pulling off the A3 and onto leafy, sun dappled B-roads, you can take the roof down on the move at up to 37mph. All the better from which to embrace England’s green and pleasant lands as you meander through stereotypical placenames such as Petworth, Haslemere and Arundel.
The seats are comfortable and adjustable, the neck scarves keep you warm at all times and you can really embrace the GT side of things in a way the coupe can’t quite match.
What’s the Ferrari Roma Spider like to drive?
The eight-speed gearbox lends the car a genuine duality of personality. It’s happy racing towards the 7500rpm redline, granting you instant shifts on demand. Then, left to its own devices with the manettino in comfort, it will gently click up to eighth gear at 29mph, barely making the V8 heard at 750rpm.
The only downside is that when you suddenly need an overtake the automatic response can either be too aggressive or not aggressive enough. Pull back on the left leaver and take control yourself. It involves you more in the experience and the shifts are a delight.
Shifting the manettino through sport, race and esc off (I went nowhere near the last option!) doesn’t impact the power, but affects shifts and traction control. I found myself in comfort most of the time, opting to put it into manual when requiring more urgency.
Another point to note versus the coupe is that the Ferrari Roma Spider feels more tail happy. There’s nothing unruly, but more than once the tail was keen to step out of line at roundabouts without any intent on the part of the driver. Whilst the fabric roof is much lighter than a metal one, obviously, it does still place more weight towards the rear of the car when it’s stowed away. That, or I’ll blame the Bridgestone Portenzas. Definitely not my fault…
The Magneride suspension, an optional extra you’ll need to select, deals with the UK’s roads brilliantly. It lends a genuine GT quality to the Ferrari Roma Spider and even when selecting more aggressive drive modes you can press the manettino down to activate bumpy road mode. In the UK, it’s a must have, even if the Roma Spider never feels overly stiff.
What’s the Ferrari Roma Spider really like to drive?
After getting a few cautious miles under my belt, my first assignment was a trip to the south coast and Worthing. The A24 offered open stretches in which to chase the redline, with the LEDs illuminating across the top of the steering wheel to prompt upshifts.
Top down, dancing through the gears and threading the Roma Spider along the narrower stretches was a delight. It pays to give yourself a bit of time with the gearbox. As mentioned, it will imperceptibly click up to eighth on its own, so you need to work out how best to tap into the 612bhp and 760Nm of torque.
On A-roads to Worthing and Haslemere, at higher speeds, the V8 is designed to deliver more torque in seventh and eight gears. This means that it’s much easier to settle into a cruise and let the auto ‘box work for you. There’s so much power to call upon that making progressive moves doesn’t require you to work down four or five gears to find the performance you’re looking for.
Get onto country roads and you’ll be reaching for the paddles. It’s here, with the roof down and the greenery shooting past that the Roma in Spider form pays off. Keep it above 3500rpm and the engine sings and the car surges forwards with aggressive intent.
The steering is, as you’d expect of a Ferrari, sharp. Minimal inputs thread the Roma Spider along any road. Then the brakes, carbon ceramics as standard, are easy to modulate and possessed of great stopping power.
I enjoyed every one of the 850 miles in it, from country lanes to motorways. It can be calm and it can be aggressive, you can pose or you can race. There’s genuine depth to the experience.
Conclusion
It was on the final trip to Leeds and back on the M1 where the Roma Spider offered the most surprise. I knew it’d be great on A- and B-roads, but with the roof up through torrential rain, it was always calm and assured; not too noisy and not too stressful. These weren’t the ideal Ferrari conditions, pushing on through the cold and wet of northern England, but it handled it with aplomb.
Whilst Ferrari has marketed the Roma as nuevo dolce vita, conjuring romantic images of 1950s Rome, it goes much further than that. It doesn’t require a romantic backdrop to feel special. From off the beaten track cruises and pleasant, sun-soaked, sleepy towns in the Home Counties, to pushing on through torrential rain on the M1 on the outskirts of Wakefield, the Ferrari Roma Spider always feels like a wonderful place to be. There’s a depth to the experience that constantly pulls you in for more.
It does the GT thing remarkably well. It feels a touch more relaxed than its coupe sibling, even if outputs are identical. Perhaps taking the roof down just lends a greater sense of mindfulness by being closer to the elements. Yet it retains that effortless violence on demand. You’re safe in the knowledge that there’s a vast well of power in reserve, even when it’s clicked through to eighth gear at 29mph. You just never feel in quite as much of a hurry in the Spider.
Taking the roof off doesn’t always work. It can compromise the aesthetics and the drive. Not a bit of it here, though. With its fabric roof neatly stowed away, wind deflector and obvious Ferrari driving characteristics, it’s brilliant. I would, just about, take it over the coupe for its all-round GT capabilities in all conditions.