Ferrari’s best daily driver is going topless with the 2024 Roma Spider.
Much care was taken to not only retain the Roma’s ’60s-inspired, “La Nuova Dolce Vita” looks, but enhance them. The sophisticated new soft top features one of two special fabric weaves and deploys in 13.5 seconds at up to 37 mph.
The rear screen was incorporated into the soft top so both can folded below the tonneau cover. When the soft top is lowered beneath the body-colored tonneau cover, the Roma’s distinctly retro rear overhang still seamlessly connects with the rear bench and headrests.
Road & Track notes the significance of the Roma Spider as it pertains to Ferrari’s history and current lineup. It’s the first front-engined Ferrari designed with a soft top since 1969, and it serves as a replacement of the Portofino M hardtop—Ferrari’s less powerful, V8-propelled convertible GT.
Like the Roma coupe, the Roma Spider features a stretched “shark-nosed” front hood that flows into a sculpted body free of any inessential panels, cuts or vents. Even the requisite grille—flanked by two linear LED headlights—is minimal, with a unique new perforated form that’s color-matched to the car.
Behind the covert intake is Roma’s twin-turbo, 3.9-liter V8 that sends 612 horsepower to Ferrari’s F1 eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. Ferrari takes care to remind us that the same power plant that was voted “International Engine of the Year” by a panel of journalists from 2016 through 2019. In the Roma Spider, the revered V8 is good for a 3.4-second sprint to 62 mph, 124 mph in 9.7 seconds, and a max speed in excess of 298 mph.
Ferrari also didn’t deviate from the Roma coupe’s interior. The passenger and driver get their own spaces—a notion that the marque says has roots in its 70s-era vehicles. Each seat is enclosed in a wraparound volume that extends from the dashboard to the rear seats, creating a physical throughline from front to back.
The steering wheel has also been redesigned, with left-hand spoke has indents that correspond to touch controls. The track pad on the right-hand spoke also features an indent that makes it easier to swipe, and the Engine Start button is now backlit in red.
Prices haven’t been announced, but it’s estimated that the Ferrari Roma Spider will cost about as much as the $250,000 Roma coupe.