[imagesource: Ferrari]

If you have around R5 million to burn and want to funnel it into a sports car, you’ve come to the right place.

Nothing says I have too much money and nothing to spend it on quite like a Ferrari.

On Tuesday night, the new V8-powered Ferrari Roma made its South African debut, and pricing starts from a cool R4 972 000.

The Roma is more impressive than a Portofino, and not as impressive as the F8 Tributo, but it’s still pretty cool if you like that sort of thing.

Added bonus – it’s a two-seater so you can convincingly make the argument that kids need to stay at home when you take it for a spin.

Per Autocar, Ferrari commercial chief Enrico Galliera said it represents “a new gran turismo”.

Galleria said that the Roma has been designed to appeal to potential customers who would “love to drive a sports car or a Ferrari but might be a bit afraid of one.”

He added: “This car will attract people who have never driven a sports car, who drive something less aggressive and now want something a bit more extreme.”

He just ruined it for me. “Scared of a sports car” isn’t really the vibe you want to give off when driving a Ferrari.

Let’s take a look at the specs, with IOL, to cheer things up a bit.

The Roma is powered by a 3855cc turbocharged V8 engine that thunders out 456kW between 5750 and 7500 rpm, and 760Nm from the 3000 mark.

That’s sufficient, says Ferrari, to get the sports car from zero to 100km/h in 3.4 seconds and to 200km/h in 9.3 seconds, while the top speed is listed at 320km/h. Power goes to the back wheels through an eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox.

That’s better.

The car also boasts advanced aerodynamic and chassis systems, alongside a Ferrari Dynamic Enhancer, which controls yaw angle by hydraulically adjusting brake pressure at the callipers.

The Side Slip Control 6,0 has been fitted to a Ferrari GT for the first time.

The design is a little retro, and was inspired by Ferraris from the 1960s, like the 250 GT Berlinetta.

Back to Autocar for a word from Ferrari design chief Flavio Manzoni.

Manzoni said [despite the retro feel] the design is intended to look to the future. “We don’t like the nostalgic approach,” he said. “We like to innovate. The idea was to develop a car that would be perfect to take to the track and then to drive to the opera.”

Ferrari named the Roma after the Italian capital, saying that it “is a contemporary representation of the carefree, pleasurable way of life that characterised Rome in the 1950s and 1960s”.

If you’re keen to get your hands on one, head here.

Don’t be scared.

You’ve got this.

[source:autocar&iol]