Ferrari unveiled the Amalfi this week, effectively replacing the Roma after five years. It’s the same basic car with updates that address most of the Roma’s criticised elements, following Ferrari’s pattern of renaming mid-cycle refreshes rather than calling them what they are.
The move isn’t unprecedented. Ferrari did the same with the FF becoming the Lusso after five years, and the 488 morphing into the F8 after just four years. It’s become standard practice in Maranello.
Design Changes
The controversial shark-nose grille is gone, replaced by Ferrari’s current black bar design that connects the headlights. This thin strip is less prominent than the thick versions found on the 12Cilindri or F80, but maintains the family look. The rear gets a similar treatment with a black trim piece connecting the inner taillights.
Chief design officer Flavio Manzoni says the team wanted to “de-anthropomorphise” the face, moving away from the “two eyes and a mouth” appearance. The result is what he calls “a groove with lamps.”
The front end features smaller headlights and functional openings above them that reduce drag while cooling the V8. Ferrari claims every body panel is different from the Roma, though some changes are more subtle than others.
Interior Overhaul
The biggest fix is dumping the haptic steering wheel controls for actual buttons. The Roma’s touch-sensitive controls were widely disliked by customers and critics alike, so Ferrari went back to physical buttons, including a proper titanium start button mounted on the left side.
The cabin gets a new milled and anodised aluminium centre piece designed to make the space feel more spacious, with a cutout for the rectangular key fob. The infotainment screen rotates from portrait to landscape orientation and appears better integrated.
There’s a passenger-side screen offering a tachometer and controls for seat heaters and massage functions. The rear seats remain, though they’re more suited for luggage than passengers on anything but short trips.
The problematic mirror controls remain largely unchanged, still requiring haptic inputs on a screen about half the size of an Apple Watch.
Performance Upgrades
The 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8 gains 20 horsepower for a total of 631 hp, while torque remains at 760 Nm. The redline increases by 100 rpm to 7,600 rpm, with peak power achieved at 7,500 rpm and peak torque between 3,000 and 5,750 rpm.
The power increase comes from lighter camshafts that weigh about one-third less than the Roma’s, improved intake and exhaust breathing, faster turbos spinning at 175,000 rpm, and the engine control unit from the 296. Ferrari claims the engine now revs more quickly than before.
Performance figures include 0-100 km/h in 3.3 seconds, 0-200 km/h in 9.0 seconds, and a top speed of 320 km/h. The eight-speed dual-clutch transmission carries over with improvements to third gear and beyond.
New Technology
The Amalfi gets Ferrari’s brake-by-wire system from the 296 and 12Cilindri, which Ferrari claims improves stopping performance by nearly 10 per cent. An active rear spoiler operates in three positions: down for low drag, medium, and high downforce. When fully deployed, it creates 110 kg of downforce at 250 km/h while adding less than 4 per cent drag.
The car also features Ferrari’s Side Slip Control 6.1 software, which manages all vehicle inputs from steering angle to suspension movement to optimise grip and performance. Standard driver assistance systems include adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, and lane keep assist.
Market Position
The Amalfi represents Ferrari’s continued push into the grand touring segment, targeting buyers who might consider a Porsche 911 Turbo or Aston Martin Vanquish. In India’s growing luxury car market, it faces competition from established players like Lamborghini and McLaren, both of which have strengthened their presence in major Indian cities over the past few years.
The car continues the Roma’s mission of capturing “la nuova dolce vita” – the new sweet life – referencing the cultural renaissance of 1950s and 1960s Italy. The Amalfi name references the stunning coastal region in southern Italy, fitting the car’s grand touring character and appealing to buyers who appreciate both performance and lifestyle positioning.
Availability
The Amalfi goes on sale in Europe at the beginning of 2026, with U.S. deliveries following shortly after. A convertible version is expected, given Ferrari’s pattern with these grand tourers and the fact that the company trademarked the Amalfi Spider name last year.
The base price starts at €240,000 in Europe, translating to roughly ₹2.4-2.7 crore in India depending on exchange rates, taxes, and import duties. This represents an increase from the Roma’s final starting price, reflecting both inflation and the car’s improvements.
For Indian buyers, the Amalfi will likely arrive through Ferrari’s official dealership network in Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru. Given India’s luxury car import duties of up to 100 percent, the final price could approach ₹4 crore or more, placing it in direct competition with other ultra-luxury GTs in the Indian market.
