new AM v8 roadster rival?

[Beckson]

Just saw Ferrari release this:
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/roma-s...
So much more attactive in my eyes than the old California/portofino thing.

wonder if it will steal AM v8 roadster sales ? Hopefully the refresh looks very nice.

[Jay_Davis]

Unlikely, given that its price is going to be at least %50 higher than the Vantage.

Also, one of the nice things about the Portofino was that it was a hardtop. I think the soft-top hurts the looks of the Roma.

[Ninja59]

Doubt it, a specced up Vantage what 150k possibly 160k.

We are still 10k below, a specced up one is more like £200k.

I am still struggling with the front end on the Roma somewhat.

[Ale_72]

This Roma spider is simply superb.

[Nbgring]

Beckson said:

Just saw Ferrari release this:
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/roma-s...
So much more attactive in my eyes than the old California/portofino thing.

wonder if it will steal AM v8 roadster sales ? Hopefully the refresh looks very nice.

It is a DB11 Volante rival.
Price, size, space for rear passengers ...

[Jon39]

What appeals to me about the exterior body design of the Roma, are the smooth contours of all the panels.
As Swiss Toni would say .....
Very VH era Aston Martin, which obviously they copied.

The current fashion now seem to be scoops and swirls, not for any practical reasons at all, but presumably just to avoid plain panels.
There have been some exceptions, the latest Range Rover for example.
Do you think this widespread trend is a temporary phase?
The E type in the 1960s, DB9 in 2000s, Roma and Range Rover in the 2020s, all followed the smooth bodywork contours philosophy.


Perhaps the example below is more representative of present design fashion. Scoops, wierd shapes and aerodynamics unnecessary for the supermarket run.
Please don't tell me, surely it did not win a design of the year award.
Interesting how the designer must have decided the boot was too big, so simply brought the rear bodywork inside the wheel arches, to reduce boot capacity.
Buyers must like it, but to me it looks a design muddle.

Edited by Jon39 on Saturday 18th March 13:46

[tberg]

Jon39,
I couldn't agree more with your comments. The current fad of heavily creased door stampings and body lines that run amok and don't meet other body lines drives my sense of design crazy. The worst of them for me is the Honda Civic. The first time I saw a Roma, I remarked at how smooth the sides were, very Jaguaresque in its voluptuous shape without interruption. It seems the trend nowadays on sports cars is to put air intakes behind the doors big enough to cook a turkey. It doesn't seem to matter who the manufacturer is. GM did it with the C8 Corvette, Lambos have always had them all over the car, and even Ferrari has added them albeit in a more subtle way. It's one of the reasons I own both of my Jaguar XKRs because of their sensual continuous body panels. It's also why I prefer sports cars from the late '60s and early '70s. I prefer the shape of my 1972 De Tomaso Pantera to any of the current batch of supercars, and who can deny the beauty of a Dino or a Miura. The old saying, "Keep it simple, stupid" comes to mind.

[pschlute]

I really want to like the Roma, especially the coupe, but I cannot get past the "tumble-dryer filter" front grille.

[Jay_Davis]

pschlute said:

I really want to like the Roma, especially the coupe, but I cannot get past the "tumble-dryer filter" front grille.

Depending on the color of the car and the grill, it doesn't always look that bad. The grill can be car color, black, or metal (silver). I also suspect we will see aftermarket replacements for it.

[pschlute]

Jay_Davis said:

Depending on the color of the car and the grill, it doesn't always look that bad.

That says design failure to me.

[Davil]

pschlute said:

I really want to like the Roma, especially the coupe, but I cannot get past the "tumble-dryer filter" front grille.

Agreed. It’s really quite ugly in the metal. It’s looks like they engaged mid 2000s Ssangyong to make a copy of the current Vantage.