Ferrari Roma Spider Review | Almost Perfect

This is probably how you'd expect a Ferrari review video to start. Lots of speed, power, noise and many computers working overtime to keep control of sideslip angles and wheel speed. But on this occasion I think we should slow things down a bit. This is the Ferrari Roma Spyder and it's not like most Ferraris. Cars with the promising horsepower are often a furious blizzard of performance and science but this, if you wish, allows you to take things a little more gently. Just like its coupe equivalent the Spyder has been designed to, in Ferrari's words, deliver its take on a relaxed carefree life of sophisticated Romans in the 50s and 60s. Front engine with a long broad bonnet and sculpted rear haunches, the feeling of effortless luxury is emphasised even more by the roof down possibilities granted by a soft top that opens and closes in just 13 and a half seconds at speeds of up to 37 miles an hour. Now as usual with Ferrari drop tops they try to keep the Roma Spyder looking as similar to the coupe version as possible. So obviously the front end is pretty much the same but once you get to about this point backwards that's when things are a little bit different. Unlike the Portofino M it uses a soft top folding roof and that's actually the first time that Ferrari's used a soft top on a front-engine car since the 365 GTS4 way back in 1969 and I guarantee that won't be the last or the first time you hear that fact in a Roma Spyder review. The material that it uses has a two-tone weave that according to Ferrari's press pack highlights the refined haute couture nature of the fabric. You can also get an iridescent red finish if that doesn't quite tickle your fancy and it's also got a nice 3D effect to it as well. It's not all about aesthetics though because they've also changed the aerodynamics to make sure that the passengers aren't too windswept so this windscreen header rail is about five millimetres higher than it is on the coupe to adjust the airflow and also check this out the backing to the rear seats if we can call them rear seats folds up at the touch of a button and it creates a wind deflector and Ferrari is actually pretty proud of this because they say they put as much effort into the wind deflector as they would an aerodynamic part on the outside of the car which is used for performance. It's even got its own little duct as well and the idea behind it is it keeps the passengers nice and cocooned away from the elements. You might be thinking what happens if you've got people in the back and you want to put it up when the answer is they just want to walk. What the wind deflector does is allow the airflow that would usually be drawn into the cabin from the rear of the car to be diverted. This creates an area of relatively still air around the occupants and for those of a taller disposition reduces turbulence around their heads by 30% compared with previous Spyder models. Aside from this the Spyder's cabin is pretty much identical to the coupe's so that means huge amounts of leather, optional carbon and a reasonable amount of room. The symmetrical dual cockpit concept also returns with the idea being that while the passenger has their own space they feel more involved with the driving experience as a whole. To help with this there's an optional passenger information display this complementing the digital dashboard display and a vertical 8.4 inch central infotainment screen. In the case of the latter the software isn't the sharpest or most user-friendly but it does have a high contrast mode for the Spyder and means you don't have to program things like the sat-nav via the frustrating wheel mounted touch controls. Steering wheels really are best left to take care of the well steering and speaking of which... Now just like the styling Ferrari likes to keep its Spyder versions as similar to drive as the coupe versions as possible. Other manufacturers will try and engineer in a different personality or character or set up into their convertible models but not Ferrari. Sounds good in theory but the issue here is that what you end up with is a car that's exactly the same but a bit heavier and therefore worse. Indeed the Roma Spyder's dry weight comes in at 1556 kilograms which is 84 kilograms more than the coupe. It's also five kilometers taller and the weight distribution goes from a perfect 50-50 to 48-52. In Ferrari supercars that are pretty much entirely focused on performance that would be pretty bad news but in this it's a different story. The Roma has always been about more than how quickly it can go around a corner. When we first drove the Roma we marveled at how sweet and pliant the ride was and that somehow Ferrari had made something with 600 brake horsepower plus as approachable as a Jaguar F-Type. In the real world where roads are often bumpy and unsighted the Roma was perhaps the easiest Ferrari to drive at pace. I don't think the addition of the convertible roof has changed that. Yes I think you can feel that it's not as sharp. There is obviously the extra weight which you can't get around. It's not quite as rigid but it's still a really enjoyable car to drive and that's got to be the point of this. The steering is initially quite light but it's really well judged and it wakes up going into corners and you can put the right amount of steering in and not have to change it because the rack suddenly becomes a bit quicker or feels a bit inconsistent. It's actually a really really sweet feeling. I think what really makes this car work as a convertible is that although you can feel it roll, you can feel it move and the weight is noticeable. Not so much the extra weight but just the weight in general of the car. You can use it to your advantage because the balance is really really sweet and predictable. The front end is really nice and easy to engage with. It's got a lot of grip and then when it does run out and it starts to just wash into understeer nice and predictably you can give the accelerator a prod and because that balance is so sweet the back of the car comes around and it's actually really easy to catch. Easier than Ferrari's mid-engine supercars that's for sure. And don't forget if you really really want to press on you've still got Ferrari Dynamic Enhancer tech, you've got the side-slip control, you've got the e-diff. That extra bit of lean in the car that I mentioned earlier is likely down to the recalibration of the semi-active suspension software. Ferrari explained that due to the extra stress going through parts of the car because the roof has been taken away, the best solution is to introduce a setup that initially feels softer. It keeps the handling sweet and stops unwanted vibrations and harshness often associated with making things firmer. As for the engine, the Roma's 3.9 litre twin-turbo V8 has been carried over unchanged from the coupe. Like all Ferrari engines the stats are standout. 611 brake horsepower up to 7,500 rpm and 560 pounds foot of torque from just 3,000 rpm. The Roma Spyder is good for 0 to 62 miles an hour in 3.4 seconds, 0 to 120 miles an hour in 9.7 and a top speed just one mile an hour short of 200. Also the sound, they've tweaked that for the Roma Spyder because Ferrari wanted you to be able to appreciate the noise it makes at higher speeds and in higher gears because usually all the wind and the ambient sound that messes it up. You can't really appreciate it but in this it really cuts through and you can still enjoy it even when you're in fourth or fifth gear. The gearbox really really punchy gear changes, it really kicks you in the back but it's just so responsive. It really doesn't feel that different to Ferrari supercars. Maybe a little bit slower on down changes but there's not much in it. The thing is with this engine is it's not all about what it's like when you're driving at 10 tenths once you settle down to a cruise and you start settling into a consistent speed or you just want to use it in automatic mode around town. Let's flick the switch there, it's a really nice engine to use. It's got bags and bags of torque, it makes a lovely burble, it doesn't shunt the gearbox, it's just really really civilized and it makes this thing a joy to do big miles in. In fact this is the best Ferrari that I can remember driving in the last few years for doing big big miles. After several glorious hours behind the wheel of the Roma Spider it was time to loop back to our overnight stay and impart my final thoughts. The fabric roof has clearly opened up possibilities that simply weren't there with the California and Portofino, yet there also appears to have been an acknowledgement of what often makes entry-level models the sweet spot in the range. With the Roma Spider Ferrari's mostly avoided the need to overcomplicate and in doing so have captured the pure simple joy of a convertible wrapped around the outstanding dynamics of the coupe. In short it's the baby drop-top Ferrari that always should have been.