Amalfi coasts into town

Ferrari launched the Roma in 2020, a beautiful 2+2 grand tourer that the Italian marque described as “la nuova Dolce Vita”, the new sweet life.

It was a near-perfect recipe of elegant design that follows nature, a tourer that looks purposeful when standing still and makes heads turn as it passes.

It was also great to drive and we were fortunate to do a bit of touring in Italy with one where it proved to be fast, comfortable and surprisingly easy to live with, all the things a proper GT car should be.

It seems like a winning combination then, except that just five years later it has been replaced.

The new Ferrari Amalfi is a 2+ coupé with great looks, lots of performance and everyday versatility. Just like the Roma then. It even looks like a Roma facelift and has the same engineering under the skin.

However, this is the new entry-level Ferrari, if it is appropriate to describe any Ferrari as entry-level. The handbuilt V8 beneath the sculpted bonnet has been enhanced to deliver 470kW, 14kW more than the Roma, although the 750Nm torque figure remains the same. It’s a tenth quicker to 100km/h at 3.3 seconds but Ferrari insists that all the power and performance is more usable and relaxed.

That’s partly because like the Roma, the Portofino and California before it, the Amalfi is aimed at those who might not have owned a Ferrari before. It’s less entry-level and more brand-entry, an Italian model that is stylish and fast but offers more practicality in daily use than Maranello’s sports and supercars. It reflects a heritage of great Ferrari berlinettas that goes back to models like the 365 GTB/4 Daytona with hints of that iconic GT in the frontal styling.

The design is clean and elegant, a contrast to other models Ferrari has revealed in recent years. The same is true of the interior which features two clearly defined areas for the driver and front passenger, but the separation is less brutal than before thanks to the lower centre console and slightly more discreet touchscreen infotainment system.

Speaking of screens, the driver gets a digital instrument cluster and the passenger has their own 8.8-inch display to make them feel like a co-driver, with various telemetry data and other features.

Where the Roma was the answer for those seeking more digitalisation, the Amalfi dials things back slightly, reflecting a trend for more tactile controls and physicality. There are more buttons and dials on the steering wheel and the centre console has a more contemporary look and feel.

Just as Aston Martin’s designers told us its customers wanted to feel luxury through touch in its latest DB12, it appears Ferrari is on the same road, responding to the Aston and the Bentley Continental GT by partly defining luxury through a sensory experience.

The interior designers have enhanced that sensory experience too, with a choice of three different comfort seats, five programmes for the massaging function and the latest in audio from Burmester.

Like Bentley, Ferrari is getting into the realm of vibrant colours, although unlike its British rival, it probably isn’t going to be offering the Amalfi in shocking pink. It did reveal the car in Verde Bellagio, a vibrant green that echoes the Verde Pino of the 275 GTB/4 but dialled up slightly for modern times.

Naturally all this comfort and luxury is matched by performance. Not only does the V8 deliver slightly more power, maximum revs have been increased to 7,600rpm and the two turbochargers have been recalibrated.

The engineers say that throttle response has been enhanced to provide more progressive power delivery, something that contributes to it being a versatile Ferrari you can use every day. The eight-speed dual-clutch transmission has been improved with software tweaks that make gearshifts quicker and smoother and changes have been made to the exhaust system, both for performance and to make it quieter in town.

The Amalfi is a Ferrari though and whether you are new to the brand or an experienced Tifosi, enjoying the power on offer is high on the agenda. Here, the engineers have also made changes, with revised aerodynamics, including a new active rear wing to increase downforce by as much as 110kg at 250km/h. There’s a new brake-by-wire system, reliant on electronics rather than just the physical mechanics of you stamping on the brake pedal. The ABS braking system from the 12Cilindri has been introduced to provide better braking and stability and upgrades have been made to the Side Slip Control that is the brain of all the electronic dynamics systems.

All these performance and engineering changes have been implemented not only to provide greater performance, but crucially for a model created for those who have not driven a Ferrari before, to make that performance more usable.

The Roma might have been the sweet life, but in the Amalfi, Ferrari is promising to make life just that little bit sweeter.