2026 Ferrari Amalfi | PH Review

Roma's successor is said to be more extreme and more comfortable - too good to be true?

By Sam Sheehan / Friday, 19 December 2025 / Loading comments

Not even Ferrari is pretending that the new Amalfi is anything but a heavily updated Roma, so why bother renaming it? The reason, its execs would have us believe, is because the changes amount to far more than a 20hp bump in power and a few chassis tweaks. Unlike a Pista or Speciale version of a Ferrari berlinetta, the Amalfi doesn’t just go faster, it’s also supposed to be more comfortable and easier to live with - and has a significantly altered interior with new tech to prove it. So, is this really a big step forward on from the Roma, or is that new name about as significant as a BBC logo redesign?

Well, it's the former. Aston Martin moved the game on significantly when it updated the Vantage in 2024, and the AMG-powered Brit now offers more muscle even than the boosted Amalfi, as it has 665hp to the Ferrari’s 640hp. To some if not most, the Aston steals the show in the looks department as well, so while the Amalfi, like the Roma before it, remains the default choice if you want a 2+2 (the Vantage is exclusively a two-seater), the Aston is cheaper and yet somehow commands a more exotic road presence. The fact you can get it in orange probably helps, as does its thumping 4.0-litre V8. It’s massively desirable.

It’s always been a class brute though, leaving plenty of space for a Ferrari model to take up the role of ballerina. The Roma, especially compared with more overtly luxurious alternatives like the Bentley Continental GT, has always felt more traditionally ‘supercar’, and that’s been true even when it’s compared with performance-focused alternatives like the Mercedes-AMG GT, McLaren GT and Porsche 911 Turbo S. It’s why the Roma, for all of its interior’s faults, has always been so easy to love - although production numbers have barely tipped into four figures most years, so clearly there’s room for improvement in terms of winning over buyers.

Let’s start with the Amalfi’s design changes, which are more substantial than first impressions suggest. Up front, the Roma’s elegant headlights have been swapped for slimmer alternatives linked by a black bar across the nose. But look closer and you’ll see that the Roma’s retro-styled and body-coloured intakes have also been switched out for a simpler front grille design, which isn’t just a visual change, but something that’s more effective at cooling the mid-front-mounted 3.9-litre V8, while generating less drag. Beneath is a front splitter that’s shaped to more aggressively influence airflow, and it’s matched at the rear by a bigger diffuser and more prominent active spoiler, with up to 50 degrees of rotation. Overall, the Amalfi is more aggressive, but still very pretty.

Underneath, there are new vortex generators to direct air towards six-piston Brembo brake calipers, controlled via a not insubstantial switch to brake-by-wire (BBW) tech, borrowed from the hybrid SF90. Ferrari says that this BBW tech, informed by 6D sensors across the car, allows for easier modulation without affecting brake feel. It does, if you’re wondering, retain a physical connection between the pedal and those carbon ceramics, which only takes control if there’s a system failure. But in normal operation, the system calculates what your braking input should equate to in terms of pad-to-disc pressure, and applies that in real-time.

That’s only the start of the Amalfi’s digital upheaval, because the technology that controls Ferrari’s semi-active MagneRide damping has also been heavily altered, with new software that makes it quicker to react and more capable of catering to specific road conditions. The E-diff is naturally included in this calculation, influencing handling and ride as much as it does traction, while Ferrari’s latest 6.1-gen Slide Slip Control system is said to blend all of the above to make driving close to the limit easier, no matter the conditions. More on that in a bit.

Those who value the grand tourer aspect of a Ferrari super-GT will find a lot to like in the Amalfi’s interior. Not because it swaps the Roma’s firmly cushioned seats for Conti GT-style armchairs, as the car uses the same firm, albeit optional massage-equipped setup. No, it’s because the Amalfi swaps a large proportion of the Roma’s touch-sensitive steering wheel buttons for proper physical ones. Best of all, this bins the Roma’s emotionless, touch-sensitive Start button for a red one that’s apparently identical to those used in Maranello’s cars since the F430.

The digital screens have earned updates too, with a 10.25-inch main infotainment system now running with faster software, and it’s been mounted horizontally and lower on the dash, meaning it’s less of a dominating feature. The system can also finally run Android Auto as well as Apple CarPlay, and it leaves the digital instrument cluster - complete with its central 10,000rpm rev counter - to now only display essential driving graphics and statistics. Yes, there’s still an optional passenger screen (apparently these have been popular with Roma buyers), but generally speaking, the Amalfi feels like it’s taken a step in the right direction by de-emphasising digitisation, while improving what tech remains.

Holding your thumb on the Roma’s Start ‘button’ felt no more special than interacting with the touch-sensitive one on your microwave, but in the Amalfi, the matching of red button ‘click’ to a high-pitched starter whine and gargling of flat-plane V8 into life is ultra-involving. That you then have to click the right carbon fibre shift paddle into first, rather than select drive on a separate lever, means the startup procedure of an Amalfi feels far more ‘supercar’ than its rivals. Even if you then end up leaving the car in auto and trundling around in Comfort mode all day long.

This is the part that the Roma already did very well. The low-rev twist provided by the 3.9-litre unit located just ahead of the bulkhead means the eight-speed twin-clutch gearbox can automatically short-shift through its ratios. At the same time, it happily drops a cog or two on short notice should you need to dash out of a junction. Comfort mode damping is forgiving over bumps, though it doesn’t let this 1.6-tonne 2+2 wallow about on its springs either. And once you adjust to the Amalfi’s broad width on the road, the light, electronically-assisted steering makes navigating urban settings (width restrictions excluded) and winding motorway slip roads a doddle. Even the adaptive cruise control is decent, although road noise at 70 mph remains pretty high.

Nobody will be surprised to hear that on a grey, damp December morning in southern Portugal (ironically chosen for its reliable sunshine), you’re eminently aware that the Amalfi is a rear-driven car. In contrast to bolted-down all-wheel drive rivals from Porsche and Bentley, even the laziest prod of throttle on cold tyres can have the traction control reining things in. But it’s the way the Amalfi’s power is trimmed that illustrates the improvements to the software behind it all. It keeps things in check without unnecessarily spoiling the fun, so much so that even on a slippery road it doesn’t take long to realise that clicking from Wet to Sport on the Manettino dial (which thankfully never fell foul of the Roma’s touch-sensitive fiasco) is perfectly sensible.

Well, sort of. Where Wet prevents any form of slip from the rear axle, Sport and Track allow several degrees of the stuff - but once there’s some tyre temp into the 285-section Goodyears, the balance provided by an Amalfi with a 48:52 weight distribution is ultra-inviting. Chase the throttle mid-corner and, like the Roma before it, the car can be coaxed into manageable slides countered with fingertip (rather than armful) adjustments to the steering, with the invisible safety net of SSC 6.1 there to keep you facing the right way. If you’re wondering, I do click into ESC Off for all of about 30 seconds, but never get past more than 40 per cent throttle. In this weather, the Amalfi is more than capable of spinning its wheels in fifth.

The improved, 6D sensor-powered electronics are your friend then, not least because you can press on confidently enough in the damp to feel the Amalfi’s brilliant damping, which still offers a useful Bumpy Road setting for when the surfacing gets rubbish. The forgiving setup means the Amalfi doesn’t hunker down like a loaded-up 911 - it initially pitches and then tenses - and so never runs out of answers if you catch a bump mid-bend. It feels light on its toes. The steering is quick too (all Ferrari racks are these days) but you soon adapt to it, armed with the information provided by changes in its resistance to your inputs that reflect the level of front axle grip on offer. The steering isn't fizzing with feel like a McLaren GT and its electro-hydraulic system, but the feedback from the front are clear and consistent enough.

There’s also no denying the increased elasticity of the engine when those rears bite. With Ferrari’s latest MG1 engine management system, the F154 motor now gets twin-scroll turbos that spin 6,000 revs faster, with a peak of 171,000rpm. That lift in boost helps bump power up to 640hp at 7,500rpm, and while there is a tiny amount of initial lag, the turbos still don't hit like a sledgehammer. The E–diff, managed electronically via the car’s 6D tech, has no trouble managing the muscle, letting you rev the motor out and click through the gears, as the LED shift lights flash up on the steering wheel’s top. Those lights really add to the ‘supercar’ ambience this super-GT holds over rivals.

Sure, the V8's note remains coarse and gravelly at low revs, with none of the thump or bellows offered by a Vantage or identically-engined Mercedes-AMG GT - but as the revs rise, you’re treated to a recognisable Ferrari flat-plane howl. It’s never quite as exciting - or indeed as loud - as a Ferrari berlinetta, yet gargles from a new exhaust and fizzes from the faster turbos emphasise the muscle plenty well enough. In a world where noise and emissions restrictions are tighter than ever, there’s still much here to savour.

If there’s a drawback to the Amalfi’s extra performance, it’s that it feels slightly more nervous on a slippery surface thanks, presumably, to its stiffer rear axle. But there’s no denying the added lateral load it can generate when the surface dries up, nor is there anything to suggest the brake-by-wire system has hindered the loads generated by those carbon ceramics. There might be a little less in the way of pedal feel (we'd need a back-to-back with the Roma to be sure), but at pace, modulation is easy. And overall stopping power is immense and consistent, helped in no small part by the underside’s new fins.

So it’s faster, easier to live with (because of buttons) and remains as practical as before as a 2+2, and while the ramped-up peak performance of that chassis may have come at a very slight cost to damp weather usability, there’s no shortage of genius electronic tech there to keep you safe. The ‘super’ in the Amalfi’s super-GT title has definitely been ramped up, without sacrificing the grand tourer bit. Is it better than those talented rivals, including the Vantage? Well, that depends on your preferences. The Amalfi continues to mix elegance with razor-sharp supercar nous like nothing else in its class - but the fact it’s so hard to declare whether it’s better or worse than rivals says much about just how compelling your options really are. The solution? A PH group test, obviously. The start of UK deliveries in Q2 2026 can’t come soon enough.

SPECIFICATION | 2026 FERRARI AMALFI

Engine: 3,855cc, V8, twin-turbo
Transmission: 8-spd twin-clutch automatic, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 640@7500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 561@3000-5750rpm
0-62mph: 3.3sec
Top speed: 199mph
Weight: 1,570kg
MPG: TBC
CO2: TBC
Price: From £202,459