It’s hard to believe that almost six years have passed since Ferrari first showed off the Roma, its traditionally beautiful V8 grand tourer for the first half of the 2020s. It’s crazy how unprecedented global events can warp your sense of time, but here we are, ready for the Roma to be replaced. Well, replaced-ish. The Ferrari Amalfi looks like a light facelift of the Roma, but it fixes that car’s biggest sin while looking even better.
Let’s start under the hood because it’s familiar stuff to anyone who knows about the Roma. The engineers in Maranello have been tinkering with the 3.9-liter twin-turbocharged flat-plane crank V8 to bring power up from 612 horsepower to 631 horsepower, with peak torque remaining at 561 lb.-ft. of twist. The interesting news here is in the details—Ferrari has managed to pull 2.9 pounds out of the engine’s camshafts alone, uses a new turbo management system to spin the things up to 171,000 RPM, and decided to go with low-viscosity oil for the first time ever. Hey, the average Amalfi owner probably won’t be blazing through Eau Rouge and Raidillon, so decreased friction and a shorter warm-up time seem like the move.
Indeed, further mechanical changes over the Roma are slight to say the least. The eight-speed dual-wet-clutch transmission gets a new electronic brain, there’s a new muffler on deck to meet stricter E.U. noise regulations, and there’s a new advanced ABS system like you get in the 12Cilindri. Figure zero-to-62 mph in 3.3 seconds, and a package that should leave all of the Roma’s goodness intact.
However, just because the Amalfi hasn’t changed much under the skin doesn’t mean it hasn’t made some nice improvements. Let’s start with the front end, which concentrates the grille into the valence and goes with a blade-style element over the headlights to tidy up the look. Whether the result looks like a Purosangue or a Prius is up to you, but it definitely adds simplicity over the Roma’s body-color grille. It’s a similar deal out back, where the taillights adopt a similar blade-over-the-top treatment and a new diffuser trim carves out space within it for the licence plate, eliminating several shut lines on the trunk lid. See? Subtle, but cleaner.
The big story here is really the interior, because the Amalfi fixes a recent Ferrari scourge. Back in the late 2000s, Ferrari decided to put everything on the steering wheel from turn signal controls to wiper controls in order to free up more room for paddle shifters. That’s fair, but eventually, the brand decided that almost everything on the wheel should be capacitive touch, including the start button. I don’t know about you, but I prefer actual buttons, which is why it’s heartening to see that the Amalfi brings them back. At the same time, a new dashboard and console minimize the use of shiny black plastic and open up a bit more space between the driver and front passenger, leading to the sort of airiness you want in a grand tourer.
The Ferrari Amalfi isn’t a revolution. Underscoring how light the changes are, even the model name has simply moved down the coast from its predecessor. However, it seems that Ferrari has focused on what really matters in a grand tourer and made lots of little tweaks focused on style and usability. Chances are that if you liked the Roma, you’re really gonna be fond of this.
Top graphic image: Ferrari
Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.
Looks pretty nice in green. Not so much in gray. What’s missing in this article is what it’s like to drive and its price tag.
Not that it matters to me because I will never spend that much on a car.
They fixed the “doesn’t look enough like a Jaguar crossed with a Toyota” problem.
They really need Pininfarina back.
At this point, I’d even accept Dennis Farina. RIP.
I’m so glad they are using physical buttons again, because that was the biggest reason I didn’t buy one, right after my lack of money, space, need, or desire.
Dont forget, you can’t have one until you bought some of Ferrari’s lesser models. Can’t have jumped up proles buying the good stuff