Supposed as a recent tackle the stylish, pleasure-seeking Italian way of life of the Nineteen Fifties and 60s, Ferrari’s 2025 Roma Spider can also be at dwelling in an American atmosphere that harks again to a earlier mannequin identify, the California.
Ferrari retired the California in 2017, when the convertible two-door four-seater that wore its identify exited manufacturing. The Portofino adopted that very same 12 months, its title chosen to conjure pictures of the Italian Riviera. It launched important structural and mechanical enhancements, finally doubling as the inspiration upon which Ferrari constructed the beautiful Roma Coupe. Nonetheless, after driving the Portofino’s successor, the Roma Spider, by way of Los Angeles, it’s clear that its Californian spirit transcends the identify.
You’d be shocked at how little of an impact chopping the roof off a automotive can have on its character. Take an Aston Martin DB12 or a Porsche 911 Turbo S, morph them into Volante and Cabriolet kind, and the use case stays the identical. Simply stash some sunscreen within the glove field, and also you’re good to go. This isn’t the case relating to the Roma Spider. Its transition from exhausting prime to convertible utterly adjustments the way you drive it and, extra importantly, the place.
Take the Roma Coupe, marketed closely by Ferrari after the spirit of La Dolce Vita. Its low, sloping roofline and Sixties-inspired curves conjure pictures of pulling as much as red-carpet premieres or extravagant events hidden deep throughout the metropolis. It captures the essence of the Bond impact that’s pushed Aston gross sales for many years. By proudly owning one, you would possibly inherit a few of the traits of the brooding, mysterious character that might drive one on the massive display screen.
In distinction, though equally positioned as La Nuova Dolce Vita, the Roma Spider trades late-night escapades for sunny days on the West Coast. It’s mechanically similar to the Coupe, drawing energy from the identical 612-horsepower, 3.9-liter twin-turbocharged V8. Nonetheless, it encourages a much more relaxed angle behind the wheel. The place the Coupe is an athletic GT, encouraging you to bounce up a canyon highway with simply manageable slides, the Spider desires you to take issues down a notch.
Its dry weight determine rises from 3,245 kilos for the Coupe to the three,430-lb Spider. An additional 185 lb isn’t an inconsiderable sum, nevertheless it hardly issues on this automotive’s case. If efficiency is what you’re after, its 3.4-second dash to 62 mph ought to nonetheless be lots, as will its 199 mph prime velocity. That is nonetheless a front-engine, rear-drive Ferrari, and its dual-clutch computerized strikes by way of gears quickly. You possibly can even mild the rears if you’d like.
As an alternative, you’ll need to put the highest down, have interaction the built-in computerized wind deflector, and revel in its snug magnetic experience suspension on a cruise up the coast. So far as grand touring goes, it has the Coupe beat when it comes to versatility. Its roof stows in 13.5 seconds at as much as 37 mph, bringing you nearer to the notice emanating from its quad exhaust suggestions. Its inside is the most effective of any present manufacturing Prancing Horse, sporting a separate central infotainment display screen that considerably will increase its usability. The cabin isolation is great regardless of, in my tester’s case, buying and selling its predecessor’s steel folding roof for a denim one.
Ferrari went to nice lengths to make sure that the rear headrests move seamlessly into the redesigned rear deck and its consideration to element pays dividends. The Roma Spider is beautiful in its personal proper. Nonetheless, this tester’s Verde Masoni Opaco exterior, black wheels, and large fender shields lean extra into sporty territory than a chic cruiser. Nonetheless, the Spider retains the identical sloping roofline that makes the Coupe a stunner.
This tester begins at $272,970 however, due to a hefty choices record, reaches an as-tested worth of $435,809. The Ferrari Roma Spider’s persona breaks away from the Coupe in welcomed methods. It’s nonetheless a beautiful two-seater that makes unbelievable V8 noises and is as fast as you’d need from a Ferrari. Whereas its weight beneficial properties have an effect on its dealing with, it doesn’t cease it from being a wonderful grand tourer, the best automotive to benefit from the West Coast sunshine. In any case, its affect over the Prancing Horse dates again to the sensational 250 GT California Spyder of the Nineteen Fifties.
Stats:
- Engine: 3.9-liter twin-turbocharged V8
- HP 612
- Torque 562
- Drive Rear-Wheel
- Transmission 8-Pace Twin-Clutch Auto
- 0-62: 3.4
- Prime Pace: 199 MPH
- Base Worth: $272,970
- As-Examined Worth: $435,809
This text appeared in our March 2025 Situation.
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