Besides its most recent launch being that of the SF-23 that had its first showing two weeks ago in the Bahrain Grand Prix, Ferrari has started 2023 off by debuting its first new road car in the shape of Roma Spider.
Premiering just short of four years following the debut of the coupe, the Roma Spider ups the Prancing Horse’s line-up of drop-tops to five after the Portofino M, 296 GTS, F8 Tributo and the flagship SF-90 Stradale.
Drop the lid
Said to pay homage to the 365 GTS 4 from 1969, the Roma Spider’s key difference from the coupe, outwardly, is the soft-top roof that can be lowered and raised in 13.5 seconds at speeds up to 60km/h.
Unsurprisingly, the eschewing of the hard-top has resulted in a number of changes, namely a redesigned rear decklid and boot, new rear screen and inclusion of a wind deflector behind the seats.
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Weight issue
The biggest changes is underneath though, where Ferrari has had to strength the Roma’s chassis, revise the window surrounds and improve noise, vibration and harshness levels in order to compensate for the Z-pattern folding roof’s mechanism.
In all, the Spider tips the scales at 84kg heavier than the coupe for a final weight of 1 556kg. Despite this, Ferrari claims the Roma Spider will still get from 0-100km/h in 3.4 seconds, the same as the coupe, and on to a similar top speed of more than 320km/h.
Able to accelerate from 0-200km/h in 9.7 seconds, 0.4 seconds slower than the coupe, the Spider also comes with reduced boot capacity as the hold now swallows 255-litres with the roof up.
Still a looker
The rest of the Spider is unchanged from the coupe Ferrari remarked at the official unveiling in 2019 bringing the concept of “la Dolce Vita” right up to date”.
Inside, and again without the change in roof taken into consideration the design and layout of the cabin is identical to the coupe, meaning the standard inclusion of an 8.4-inch touchscreen infotainment system draped across the centre console, a digital instrument cluster, electric seats and a metal effect finish on the console itself that mimics the open-gate gearshift pattern manual Ferrari’s becomes famous for.
A supplementary 8.8-inch display on the passenger’s side and neck warmer for the seats can both be specified as optional extras.
Twin-turbo V8
Besides its structural upgrades, the Roma Spider retains not only the various driving modes and dynamics of the coupe, but also the multi-award winning 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8 that delivers its 456kW/760Nm to the rear wheels via an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission.
Mounted as standard on 20-inch alloy wheels, bringing the Spider to a stop comes by way of carbon ceramic brakes utilising a ventilated 390mm disc design at the front and 360mm setup at the rear.
Not confirmed yet
Expected to go on-sale before the end of this year, announced regarding the Roma Spider coming to South Africa has not yet been made by the Maranello’s local arm, Scuderia South Africa.
