My FH5 Log: Roman Holiday

Ferrari is known for its race cars, but they also make elegant grand tourers for everyday use. The California and Portofino are two such models.

By the time the age of the new normal came, a new Ferrari Grand Tourer stepped into the spotlight.

We called it "La Nuova Dolce Vita" but Ferrari officially called it "Roma".

This is the Ferrari Roma, it's the latest grand tourer that picks up where the California and the Portofino left off and I got this car from Forza Horizon 5's Italian Automotive Car Pack.

So, what's it all about the Ferrari Roma?

The Ferrari Roma is a different kind of Ferrari. It's a grand tourer that prioritizes road performance over track performance. It has a front-mid-engined 4.0L turbocharged V8 engine that produces 620PS of power and 760Nm of torque. It can go from 0-100kph in three and a half seconds and onwards to over 320kph.

By the time I tried the Roma in-game, I got my hopes up to experience Ferrari's latest grand tourer, and judging by its performance, it's still a Ferrari despite being developed for comfortable road use just like the McLaren GT a while back. It may be classy and elegant but deep down, it's got the beating heart of the Scuderia racer, meaning it loves to take its day out in the middle of its day out. See what I mean?

Going back to the main festival grounds, it's time to find out how good is the Roma compared to its predecessor, the Portofino, but to spice things up, I've added a wildcard entry for this comparison; the Ferrari 812.

Let's find out if the Roma is worthy to be called a "Super GT" in the Ferrari stable. Roll the tape.

And here are the results...

812 - 1m06.400s

Portofino - 1m11.705s

Roma - 1m10.003s

Being around four seconds slower than the 812 but nearly a second quicker than the Portofino it replaces, the Ferrari Roma proved its worth as Ferrari's newest Super Grand Tourer. It may be road-focused but deep down, it behaves like a real Ferrari.

At this point, I would conclude my little story about the Ferrari Roma in Forza Horizon 5, but I got other ideas because in the spirit of Let's ¡Go!, the Roma looks rather suited for an extravagant role...

As MC AIMU would say, "AiPriVerse Day!" because today, my Ferrari Roma has donned the extravagant role of the Himitsu no AiPri character Sakura Ichijoji, the leader of Quartet STAR. Suits its personality. Miss Sakura, I presume.

As for the 812 and the Portofino, meanwhile...

I remember the time I made an Anna Akagi design for my 812 back in Horizon UK but this is her Season 3 look. Brings back memories, huh?

The same goes for the Portofino as it dons the role of Kiratto PriChan character Mel Shido in her Season 3 look.

Three Ferrari Super GTs dressed as Pretty Series rival idols are showcasing their extravagant but extreme prowess in three EventLab creations I'm showcasing it to you, the people. Miss Sakura is pushing her extremes in an EventLab re-enactment of the legendary Shutokou C1 Loop while Anna takes on what seems to be an EventLab re-enactment of the Grand Tour Eboladrome and Mel takes on the EventLab presentation by Forza fanatic "Dexter 4130D". Let's roll the tapes.

I guess Miss Sakura's too powerful for me to handle. It goes to show that you have to be as good as the leader of the Quartet STAR team. Oh well, welcome to the verse.

Ferrari's Super Grand Tourers have proven that there's more to their cars than just on-road performance. With some extravagant imagination, these cars performed like they were a threat to the competition. This is the Ferrari way, and the world should take note.

Ferrari Roma Spider

The first-ever Ferrari Roma is a different kind of Ferrari that puts the priority on the road first rather at the track because of its road-focused suspension and chassis setup that sets itself apart from the other relatives but being a Ferrari, it's got a lot of race-derived tech on it, meaning that even if it's prioritized to feel at home on the road, it's worth addictive to drive and you can spend lots of moments toying around with the Roma all day.

For those who are looking for the same Roma experience but prefer to have its roof off, the first-ever Roma Spider has arrived.

2024 Ferrari Roma Spider

Priced somewhere at the 250K Euro mark, the Roma Spider served as the replacement for the Portofino because it's already served its purpose and the Roma takes over as Ferrari's decent grand tourer for speedo boys who like to take it to the Amalfi more than Monza.

It possesses the same characteristics as its hardtop equivalent but the Spider comes with a retractable soft-top that can be opened or closed in 13-and-a-half seconds even at cruising speeds of up to 100kph. With the roof down, the Roma Spider shows its true beauty beneath this grand touring work of art.

You can still expect the same front-mid-engined 4.0L Turbocharged V8 engine as the hardtop, producing 620PS of power and 760Nm of torque while mated to an 8-speed DCT as seen on the SF90, but because this is the open-top version, the weight has gone up by 84kg. Thankfully, the performance figures are nearly the same; meaning it can still do 0-100kph in 3.4 seconds and flat out in 320kph.

Like the hardtop, the Roma Spider puts the priority on the road first rather at the track because of its road-focused suspension and chassis setup but being a Ferrari, it's got a lot of race-derived tech on it, meaning that even if it's prioritized to feel at home on the road, it's worth addictive to drive and you can spend lots of moments toying around with it all day.

A decent replacement to the now-defunct Portofino, the Roma Spider does all of the work and play from its hardtop equivalent but with the retractable roof to show its true beauty everywhere. This is the greatest grand tourer Ferrari has ever spawned. Although not perfect, this is impossible to ignore because it's a Ferrari.

Photo: Ferrari

Ferrari Roma vs. Ferrari Portofino M

Ferrari's newest grand tourer, the Roma, is unlike any other Ferrari we are familiar with because most Ferraris are born for racetracks, the Roma, like its Portofino brother, prefers to have a laid-back attitude because it likes to be enjoyed on the road rather on the track or is it?

So, what is the Ferrari Roma? For less than 200K, this is the least expensive Ferrari you can buy, making it a hard bargain for the rich speedo boys looking for a Ferrari to begin with.

Unlike most Ferraris that prefer to look like racecars, the Roma features a more contemporary styling that blends passion with drama the Italian way and there's no judgment for that. When you take it for a spin around city centers, the Roma is a worthy feature attraction that gets all the attention it deserves like most expensive sportscars do in their daily life.

The interior, meanwhile, is a big shock because this is the first time a Ferrari has gone the tall screen approach like most vehicles today, and while it sports familiar Ferrari interior items such as the display near the glove compartment and the complicated steering wheel like most Ferraris had, the Roma comes with a super cool car key in the shape of the Ferrari badge. You insert it and you're in charge. That's it.

Unlike most Ferraris, the Roma runs on a brand new powertrain consisting of a front-mid-engined 4.0L Turbocharged V8 engine producing 620PS of power and 760Nm of torque and while mated to a new 8-speed DCT as seen on the SF90, it can go from 0-100kph in three and a half seconds and onwards to over 320kph. That's quicker than its main foe, the Aston Martin Vantage, by a long shot.

Apart from the performance it delivers, the Roma is a different kind of Ferrari that puts the priority on the road first rather at the track because of its road-focused suspension and chassis setup that sets itself apart from the other relatives but being a Ferrari, it's got a lot of race-derived tech on it, meaning that even if it's prioritized to feel at home on the road, it's worth addictive to drive and you can spend lots of moments toying around with the Roma all day.

While it was known to be the Ferrari that likes to be enjoyed on the road, some might say that the Roma is no doubt one of the best grand tourers made in this era but the question is, would you like it more than the open-top Portofino?

I just said Portofino because the open-top Ferrari we are all familiar with now comes with an updated version called the Portofino M, the improved version of Ferrari's open-top grand tourer that tries to question the Roma's authority.

Although it's priced over ten grand more than the Roma, the improved Portofino picks up where the previous Portofino left off but with some revised styling to match it as well as the new, more complicated, steering wheel as seen on the Roma on the inside, among many other updates in store for the Portofino M.

Like the Roma, the Portofino M's armed with the 4.0L V8 Twin Turbo engine produces 620PS of power and 760Nm of torque and is mated to the 8-speed DCT. Although it weighs more than the Roma, the Portofino M's performance matches the Roma's, meaning it can go from 0-100kph in three and a half seconds and onwards to over 320kph. It's quicker than the old Portofino, of course.

In the past, I said that the Ferrari Portofino truly defies expectations of what a grand tourer should be and in Ferrari's case, be it for pleasure-seeking or for going all-out. The M, meanwhile, is the same but better because the dynamics are even more breathable and more enjoyable to drive than the old one. It's got the new Side Slip Control 6.0 as seen on the Roma as well, meaning that even if it's prioritized to feel at home on the road, it's worth addictive to drive, just like the Roma.

So, there we are; the Roma and the Portofino M. They may be road-focused grand tourers but they behave just like a true Ferrari, and looks like all bets are off with these newest grand tourers offered by the Prancing Horse. This is serious stuff and they really mean it.

Photo: Ferrari