You don’t expect a supercar maker to be as prolific with its model strategy as some of the mass market car makers. But that is what Ferrari is turning out to be this year. For the longest time, the Italian supercar brand has had a simple, clear strategy for its portfolio of sports cars with a classification that divided them into three engine type categories — V8s, V10s and V12s. During many years, there have only been one or two cars in each of the categories.

Model refreshes or replacements have been few and far between. Yes, Ferrari has turned up the heat during the last few years and has displayed its intent to go for the competition’s jugular with an increasingly regular model replacement strategy. Yet, this year has been the most prolific for the House of the Prancing Horse, with as many as five new models rolling out of its home in Maranello.

The latest model, and one of the best looking sports cars of the year, to join the lineup is the Ferrari Roma. Being quietly unveiled before the upcoming festival season, the Roma was displayed during a dedicated client event held on Wednesday in Italy’s iconic capital city. Said to be a tribute to and a contemporary representation of the carefree, pleasurable way of life that characterised Rome in the 1950s and ‘60s, the new mid-front-engined 2+ coupé is already promising to be a minimalist design icon. Curved, smooth surfaces all around the car make it look like it was chiseled out of a single block of aluminium, sanded down and buffed to perfection. If not for those twin dual exhausts at the rear, the incredibly aerodynamic Roma could, from a distance, even be mistaken for an electric supercar.

An official Ferrari statement says that it features refined proportions and timeless design combined with unparalleled performance and handling. Ferrari also claims that the Roma is not only an epitome of Italian design, but it also represents the pinnacle of performance in this category, thanks to its turbo-charged V8 from the family of engines that has won the overall ‘International Engine of the Year’ award four years running. The engine in the Roma delivers 620CV of power at 7,500 rpm and 760Nm of torque from 3,000rpm. The new car is based on the Portofino and the retuned 3,855cc engine is also from there, but in the Roma it is coupled with the new 8-speed DCT gearbox that was introduced on the SF90 Stradale.

The new Roma is over 4.6 metres long and weighs barely 1,500kg. The V8 engine can power the new sports car from standstill to 100kmph in 3.4 seconds. Top speed is limited to 320 kmph.

The new Prancing Horse will take on competitors like the Aston Martin Vantage.

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