► Ferrari Roma Spider convertible driven
► Simpler fabric folding roof returns
► Costs £210k, 611bhp, 3.4sec 0-62mph
An entry-level Ferrari sounds like an oxymoron, yet that’s exactly what the Roma Spider is. With a starting price of £210,313 it’s almost twice the price of a base Porsche 911 Cabriolet, yet still comes in considerably cheaper than any other Maranello convertible.
What’s more, while you’ll often find that entry-level models are the sweetest and most enjoyable, Ferrari’s recent attempts at creating a baby drop-top fitting of the brand haven’t been entirely convincing. We’d never say the California and latterly the Portofino were a disaster, yet it’s hard to argue they truly lived up to the Ferrari name.
The Roma Spider, however, may well be different. Unlike the aforementioned models, it started out life as a coupe that we liked rather a lot thanks to its brilliant blend of comfort and handling and gorgeous looks. We’ll go into the dynamics later, but to these eyes the Roma Spider is one of the prettiest convertible Ferraris in recent memory.
Soft-top rather than hard-top
Part of the reason for this is Ferrari has elected to give the Roma Spider a fabric roof, rather than a folding hard-top. Some might argue that the latter looks better, but the Roma Spider’s design certainly appears more delicate with the two-tone weave available in four different colours in addition to an optional technical fabric.
The rear end has also seen a partial redesign over the Roma coupe to accommodate the folding roof, but otherwise the cars are identical to look at. Ferrari’s approach being that the Spider should be as similar as possible to the coupe, in both looks and engineering.
Dual-cockpit cabin design
As a result, the Roma Spider’s cabin is 99% identical to the coupe’s. That means the dual-cockpit design (engineered to make the passenger feel like they’re a part of the driving experience), a vertical infotainment screen and swathes of flawless leather remain and, for the most place, make the Roma Spider a lovely place to sit.
It certainly feels like an event – the lovely action to the carbonfibre paddles and view over the bonnet between the haunches being two particularly memorable details.
However, the frustrating steering wheel touchpad remains and – despite having the vertical central touchscreen to control many primary features – still makes it difficult to operate the digital dashboard without taking your eyes off the road. It’s a very different approach to rivals such as McLaren and – to a lesser extent – Porsche, who prefer to keep their steering wheels clean and simple.
The Ferrari Roma Spider has two rear seats that – despite their size – do help with usability. However, the design of Ferrari’s latest patented wind deflector renders them useless in many situations (as, in fairness, do most wind deflector solutions). Said deflector is essentially the backrest of the rear seats folding upwards so it runs perpendicular to its original position.
Once activated (using a button on the centre console), the air flow that would normally be drawn into the cabin from the rear of the car is deflected, thus creating an area of relatively still air around the occupants that doesn’t ruffle any perms.
Ferrari’s clearly proud of this solution and claims that it’s spent as many resources on the deflector as it would an exterior aerodynamic performance part. It’s an effective solution that keeps the occupants shielded from the worst of the elements and is far easier to activate then many rival offerings.
How does the Roma Spider drive?
As per the norm with its convertible models, Ferrari set out to make the Roma Spider as similar to drive as the coupe as possible. Its logic being the coupe is fabulous, so why change it – and it’s hard to disagree.
However, taking the roof off a car usually means concessions need to be made and it’s no different with the Roma Spider. For starters, the dry weight increases from 1472kg to 1556kg – this in spite of the fabric roof not weighing nearly as much as a folding hard-top. What’s more, the sill had to be redesigned to take the extra structural load and while Ferrari claims exceptional torsional rigidity, there is a measurable difference between the coupe and the Spider.
The first thing that strikes you when driving the Roma Spider quickly is that the set-up feels noticeably softer than the Coupe. And while the physical suspension components and their settings are the same, the software on the semi-active dampers has been tweaked. Ferrari explains that, to deal with the extra energy being channelled through certain areas of the car, the set-up on the dampers has been tweaked to allow greater initial roll. The idea being that it keeps the Roma’s handling tidy, but avoids introducing extra harshness and vibration that you’d get by stiffening the dampers.
It’s a clever piece of chassis tuning that, once you get past the initial feeling of softness, works well in the Roma Spider. The steering is initially light, but once you pitch the nose into a corner and the car settles, the grip levels are considerable and the balance perfectly judged. Weight distribution has moved from 50:50 to 48:52, and in some ways this feels like it gives the Roma Spider a greater feeling of rotation than the Coupe.
And the V8 engine?
It’s a peach. 611bhp at 7500rpm means there’s ample encouragement to stretch through the eight-speed box, yet 560lb ft (80% of which available from 2100rpm) also means it settles into a brisk cruise without breaking a sweat. Ferrari’s also worked on the exhaust to deliver a sound that penetrates the wind noise at higher speeds and while it’s not on the level of a naturally aspirated V12, there’s plenty to like about to the turbo’d 3.9-litre soundtrack.
Like the rest of the car, it’s the engine’s ability to adapt to the situation which is deeply impressive. For a thrash down a country road it delivers the requisite excitement levels, yet it’s also happy to shrink into the background when driven slowly. Combined with the compliant ride and hushed refinement (not quite as good roof up as a hard-top, but not far off), the 2023 Ferrari Roma Spider makes a convincing GT and one that you could easily cover significant miles in – roof up or roof down.
Ferrari Roma Spider – verdict
The Roma Spider manages to do what Ferrari’s two previous entry-level convertibles struggled to achieve. It captures the essence of what makes a fun, usable convertible, but it also delivers a hugely polished and satisfying driving experience that, while not identical to the Roma coupe, is still enough to feel definitively Ferrari.
In short, it’s a big step on from its predecessors and a fine addition to Maranello’s long list of hugely desirable Spiders.