Ferrari’s entry-level Roma has had its time and has been sent to the sweet life in the sky, replaced by the coastal-themed Amalfi.
It’s not really a replacement, more of a medium-level facelift, but the new Amalfi looks pretty good. Ferrari says it’s their grand tourer – and who am I to deny them? – going up against things like Aston’s Vantage and if you squint a bit, the Bentley Continental GT.
The Roma’s exterior design was something of a departure for Ferrari, with McLaren-esque surfacing that I thought worked quite well, but not everyone was convinced. It was good fun to drive and I liked the minimalist interior.
The front end has had a mild reworking, with an updated face echoing the 12 Cilindri but more successful and resolved. The rear looks roughly the same and if I were in charge, I wouldn’t touch it either.
Inside is where the bigger changes have been wrought, but again, it’s not revolutionary. There are still three screens laid out across the dash, with the instrument pack and media screens both updated and another screen in front of the passenger. But it all looks a bit more sleek and in place, if that makes any sense.
More exciting for a lot of buyers will be the return of physical buttons on the steering wheel and not those idiotic touch-sensitive ones. Glory be.
The annoying gear selector slider, set among three sliders to look like an old gated shifter, remains. It all looks good but I don’t like it.
The Amalfi’s interior, like the Roma’s, presents a lot better in the flesh, I would say, and it is a really lovely cabin, working to focus on the drive rather than how much crap they can cram into a luxury car.
Engine and Drivetrain
Bizarrely, Ferrari hasn’t offered up a picture of the engine which is a colossal shame because Ferrari is that rare company that knows how to dress an engine.
The twin-turbo 3.9-litre V8 continues its glorious life spinning up 471kW at a lovely 7500rpm while delivering 760Nm of torque between 3000 and 5750rpm. Ferrari’s eight-speed twin-clutch also continues on.
Ferrari says it will headbutt 320km/h and complete the 0-100km/h sprint in 3.3 seconds. 0-200km/h is over just nine seconds.
Chassis
Front brakes are 390mm, the rears 360mm and contribute to a claimed 100km/h to zero stopping distance of 30.8 metres (no doubt the 245/35s and 285/35s are useful here). 200 to zero stopping distance is 119.5, both impressive. With a 50:50 weight distribution and a dry weight of 1470kg (let’s call it 1600-ish with a full tank of fuel and fluids on board), it’s light for a modern car.
The Amalfi will be along at some point in Australia as European and American customers no doubt hoover up this lovely evolution of an already-lovely car.
