Beautiful design is in the eye of the beholder. While the Ferrari Roma certainly has it, the design of its key is sure to be more controversial.
Jack Rix of Top Gear shared photos of the Roma's key on Twitter Thursday, and they show a leather-backed metallic fob adorned only with the prancing horse logo on the front and "Roma" on the back. The locking and trunk controls are marked by embroidery in the leather, making this implementation simultaneously flashy and uncluttered.
New Ferrari key... way more visible when you drop it in the bowl on the way in pic.twitter.com/3BOzGkCmy2
— Jack Rix (@jack_rix) November 14, 2019
The new fob isn't the only thing Ferrari did to differentiate the Roma. Its dash is divided by a floating center console which houses the gear selector and a compact infotainment display screen. The flying buttress-style console intersects the Roma's dash high up, dividing the front seats into two cockpit-like positions.
Behind the steering wheel sits a fully digital, multi-function cluster. This configuration is essentially mirrored on the other side of the cabin, where a standalone display provides a control and information interface for the Roma's front passenger—a touch borrowed from the Portofino convertible, but with a unique execution.
Ferrari Roma
Compared to the Portofino, with which it shares is powertrain and fundamental architecture, the new coupe boasts cleaner, sleeker lines marked by a subdued upper grille and fog lights integrated into a full-width lower opening. Unlike the Portofino, which has flanks marked by large air vents in the front fenders, the Roma's side profile is uninterrupted. In the rear, the Roma sports four individual lighting elements complemented by an equal number of individual exhaust tips.
Ferrari Roma
Ferrari kept its final unveiling of 2019 under wraps for quite a while. Spotted testing in October, the Roma—a new front-engine, fixed-roof, 2+2 grand tourer—was revealed Wednesday at a private event in Rome.
This is the last of five cars Ferrari has revealed in 2019; the F8 Tributo, F8 Spider, SF90 Stradale and 812 GTS were all unveiled earlier in the year. It will slot in alongside the $215,000 Portofino, but there's no word yet on when we should expect the Roma to be delivered to customers.
