I have a special affinity to design of the 60’s. This was the era of modernism, minimal design with an eye towards the future. 60’s sports cars expressed this with smooth rolling sexy feminine curves. The sense of speed was created by a designer’s hand rather than calculated from a computer. Modern sports cars represent speed with harsh lines and angles intersected with ducts and bits of aero highlight technology but very little romance. That’s why I was pleasantly surprised when Ferrari rolled out the all new Roma. A massive departure from their cars of recent past and even their current lineup, Ferrari brought sexy back to their line up and I was excited to get my hands on one.
As I walk around this example in an electric Blue Corsa, everything about this design gets me excited. The overhanging shark nose with a very modern and minimal grill is clean and sharp. The lack of vents or ducts allows the fenders to swoop you up and around it’s narrowed waist leading to more curved haunches that culminate with it’s glorious big, round, squat and firm booty. The purity of this design reminds me of the legendary GTO of the 60’s but also a little bit of the Daytona of the 70’s as well. Either way, the history and lineage of the brand is definitely present in this design.
The interior is characterized by a “dual cockpit design” giving equal space to both driver and passenger. A touch screen display on the passenger side instantly makes the passenger a co driver as they have audio and climate controls as well as driver info like RPM and speed. The dash is made up of a curved 16’ HD screen and can be personalized in various configurations. The steering wheel is all new, with touch controls including the start/stop function. While it is a technological feat, I’m old so I prefer physical buttons that go click. There were a couple times an errant finger had me calling people I had rather not talk to. There are two rear seats in the back that I was able to shoehorn my 7 year old daughter into for a family drive. Overall the interior is a very comfortable yet minimal space in black leather and Alcantara putting the focus on the road in front of you, where it should.
