The Amalfi might not be a clean-sheet design, but it sports a host of improvements over the Roma
- After six years, Ferrari revealed the all-new Amalfi as its latest front-engined grand tourer.
- The new sports car replaces the Roma as the entry point in Maranello’s evolving lineup.
- Static first looks spark debate over whether it’s a proper step forward or just familiar.
They certainly took their sweet time the powers-that-be at Maranello, didn’t they? The Roma was launched in 2019 and, while it introduced a totally new design language for the house that Enzo built, it stayed in production for six years – quite a long time by Ferrari’s standards.
Now, the Italians have introduced the Amalfi, stepping in as the new entry point to Ferrari ownership. At first glance, it’s not a dramatic departure. You don’t have to be Frank Stephenson to see that it’s essentially the same car with some updates to get it up to speed in the face of the ever-stiffening competition.
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Of course, Ferrari would have you believe it’s so much better that Roma owners should trade them in ASAP. To that end, they have publicized a whole list of changes made to it. When it comes to the powertrain, the twin-turbo V6 got upgraded turbochargers, dedicated pressure sensors for each cylinder bank, a higher redline, a new ECU, a redesigned block, lightweight camshafts, while the gearbox is both faster and smoother.
The driving experience should also be better thanks to a faster and more accurate (but still electric) power steering and a brake-by-wire system incorporating a high-tech ABS. On the safety front, the latest Prancing Horse comes with a slew of driver assist systems, ranging from Adaptive Cruise Control to a Surround View Monitor. As it should, because despite being the “baby” Ferrari, it’s still a wildly expensive car, right?
They also totally redesigned the dashboard, got rid of that “bridge” in the middle, updated the screens and (finally!) realized that haptic controls for everything is a not-so-well-thought-out answer to a question no one asked in the first place. Hence, they brought back some physical buttons, which is definitely a wise choice.
As expected, Ferrari invited certain media to take a first look at its latest creation from up close, and you can watch what they have to say about it in the videos.
Now, the Roma was a-okay to begin with, so I guess its successor will do just fine, thank you very much. Personally, I think the best part is that, as pointed out by Top Gear’s Ollie Kew, Ferrari came to their senses and instead of choosing names like Purosangue and 12Cilindri, which make it seem nonsensical like they are trying too hard, picked Amalfi, a graphic village in southwest Italy, to named their new steed after.
Apart from sounding much better, it also has a connection to literature, since the Duchess of Malfi, a Jacobean tragedy by John Webster published in 1623, takes place at the exact same location.
Enough with that, though; what we all want to know is if Ferrari has indeed improved on a great recipe. Cue the videos.