The Roma came as a bit of a shock when it was launched. With its minimal detailing, solid-looking front grille and body panels that looked like they were under tension, it was divisive. Some said that it looked like an Aston Martin, others that it lacked aggression. I for one thought it was one of the most beautiful Ferraris in years.
This new one clearly has to fall in line with a fresh era of Ferrari design. There’s no obvious front grille at all. The Amalfi swaps it for a body-coloured ‘wing’ and a gloss black bar running between the headlights. In the initial, highly digitally enhanced press images, it reminded me a little of the Toyota bZ4X’s ‘hammerhead’ look, but in the metal it looks much more purposeful, particularly in the spectacular greeny-blue Verde Costiera launch colour.
Despite having the same size of wheels and tyres as the Roma, the Amalfi manages to shed its predecessor’s slightly under-wheeled appearance, surely helped by the alloys, which look simple and solid from some angles and intricate from others. Talking of which, props to Ferrari’s press department for snubbing the latest trends and speccing silver wheels.
A big slash along the side of the car breaks up the surface visually, while at the back the lights are recessed and the panelwork has become a little cleaner. If you prefer the look of the Roma, you can still buy one as a Spider. An Amalfi Spider is surely coming, just not yet.
Sorry to harp on about design, but the Amalfi is one of those cars that get better with quiet contemplation, and there aren’t any momentous technical developments here, contrary to what the page count of the media presentation document suggests (74, in case you’re wondering).
The engineers have extracted a bit more power (but no more torque) from the 3.9-litre flat-plane V8 while also making it better at passing emissions tests. More accurate boost control means that the two twin-scroll turbochargers can safely spin 6000rpm faster (to 171,000rpm) and the engine’s redline has been increased to 7600rpm, although peak power (now 20bhp more) still arrives at the same 7500rpm.
The engine also runs on thinner oil (0W30 instead of 5W40) so that it’s more efficient while warming up (which is important for Euro 7 emissions testing).
The exhaust system has been tweaked as well to enable the catalytic converter to warm up more quickly and it’s a little quieter at idle too.
As for the chassis, the hardware is the same, but since the Roma’s launch, Goodyear has been added as a tyre supplier alongside Pirelli and Bridgestone, and the magnetorheological dampers (still a £3695 option, or £7501 if you want it with nose lift) have been recalibrated slightly. The aerodynamics have evolved as well, with a new and more aggressive deployable rear spoiler.