Check out the new Ferrari Amalfi Spider
The drop-top Roma was a highlight of the Ferrari range - here's how the Amalfi aims to be even better
As the technology involved in making a convertible improves further, so the appeal increases even further. Once upon a time, the Spiders and Spyders of the world were a lot heavier, a lot softer and a lot less nice to look at than their hard top counterparts. But as roofs have become better insulated and better packaged, as chassis have become better equipped to cope with a topless derivative, so cabrios have become hard to resist. They drive damn near as well as the coupe, with top-down motoring on offer as well.
Certainly the old Ferrari Roma Spider was one of those very persuasive, best-of-both-worlds soft tops. ‘I didn’t fully fathom the Roma back at its 2020 launch’, wrote Stephen Dobie in our Cars to be thankful for feature, ‘revisiting it with its roof removed and a marginally softer setup, I’m close to besotted’. He added: ‘If there’s any inherent shakiness, I’ve not yet found it, and the ultimate rubber stamping of the engineers’ work (and the Spider’s insouciance to UK road surfaces) is that you may quickly feel compelled to click the Manettino up to Race – or hold it a second or two longer for ESC Off.’ High praise indeed. Now, following that car - and after the hugely impressive 12Cilindri Spider as well - we have the roofless Roma replacement: the Amalfi Spider.
Handsome, no? While recognisable from before, this soft top Ferrari looks even more glamorous than ever, perhaps thanks to styling cues borrowed from more senior models in the range. Ferrari suggests that the design language ‘blends refinement and energy, taking shape as a monolithic, sleek and sculptural speedform that gives the car a modern, fresh character while retaining unrivalled elegance.’ The red seen here is a new one for the Maranello palette; it’s called Rosso Tramonto, said to be inspired by the colours of the Amalfi coast at dusk - hence the oranegy tint. Expect to see plenty in this colour, as it looks fabulous. What a great set of wheels, too.
The roof itself is as speedy as before (13.5 seconds at up to 37mph) and boasts the same five layers to the canvas. The roof also maintains a 220mm height when stowed, and 255/172 litres of boot space. So the switch from Roma to Amalfi might not feel transformatively different from a convertible point of view, though Ferrari does say that there’s ‘acoustic insulation comparable to that of a vehicle equipped with a retractable hardtop’.
Even as a front-engined V8 soft-top rather than something more extreme, this Amalfi is still a Ferrari, and so aerodynamics remain very important. That means both from a performance perspective - a speed sensitive rear wing with three settings, vortex generators underneath, an ‘optimised’ rear diffuser - as well as comfort one. So there’s a wind deflector that opens at 101 degrees from the rear bench, ‘creating a more stable bubble of comfort around the passengers and reducing turbulence and noise’. Indeed Ferrari suggests that this car offers up ‘top-of-class comfort even the roof down’ as well as aero performance comparable to the coupe. Talk about having your cake and eating it…
The Spider powertrain is as you were for the regular Amalfi, with 640hp from the 3.9-litre, twin-turbo F154 V8. And while only 20hp more than the Roma, it feels worth pointing out that the gain comes from an increase in turbo speed to 171,000rpm as well as changes to the electronics. The cams and the block are lighter than before, too. As is often the way with Ferrari updates, what initially seems like a mild facelift is actually a much more involved refresh.
As far as the chassis goes, the biggest change from Roma to Amalfi Spider is probably the introduction of brake-by-wire, or ABS Evo in Ferrari speak, using additional sensors to better distribute brake force. There’s also version 6.1 of Side Slip Control, a ‘more dynamic character’ for the Sport and Race settings of the manettino against a Roma, and tyre options from three makers: Pirelli (P Zero), Goodyear (Eagle F1 Supersport) and Bridgestone (Potenza Sport).
The new model is summarised by its maker as a ‘perfect balance of performance, elegance, driving pleasure, ease of use and versatility makes the Ferrari Amalfi Spider the benchmark for Ferrari’s performance-driven lifestyle, including in an open-air configuration.’ With the tech upgrades and styling refresh, it’s easy to imagine a few Roma customers considering an upgrade; expect the price to rise slightly compared to the £210,838 Roma when the Amalfi goes on sale later this year. In the meantime, half the Romas for sale on PH are Spiders, and you surely won’t do much better than Verde Zeltweg over Cuoio…
It reminds me of 911 cabriolets, which is not a good thing!Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff