The styling of the Roma only breaks with Ferrari styling if you think that styling began in the late 80's with the Testarossa and the mid engined cars that followed. Centro Stile have been very clear that they took inspiration for this model from the Ferraris of the 50's and 60's. They have visually decluttered the car of all the aero on the bodywork that was compromising their recent offerings on the front engined models. The FF ushered in an era of the front engined cars trying to mimic the styling cues of the mid engined models in an attempt to give them a more aggressive appearance and create a family resemblance to the more instantly recognisable "Ferrari" look for younger buyers in new markets. That brutalist version of styling has become increasingly harsher with the profusion of gaping vents, air bridges, front wing wheel well air outlets etc making it difficult to design a "beautiful" and clean shape. The Portofino is probably the pinnacle of the hole they had found themselves in where they had turned what was supposed to be an elegant GT convertible into an aero influenced conflagration of slashes, vents, splitters, rear diffusers etc that rob the car of any subtle styling but make it look more closely related to the 488/F8. These have all been swept away on the Roma in the same way they were on the SP Monza models.

There are numerous identifiable styling features that have been incorporated onto this car from the back catalogue of front engined GT models. Take a look at the front wings, centre power bulge on the hood, the shape of the leading edge of the hood and the corresponding reverse "falling away" ange of the front grille. It is instantly recognizable from the 250 Lusso.

Roma 250 Lusso bonnet.JPG

The shape of the glass house takes inspiration from the 250 GT SWB, the 250 Lusso and the 275 GTB but adds a modern twist with a much more aggressive rake of the front windscreen and the kick upwards of lower line of the rear quarterlight windows.  There is a hint of the 612 Scaglietti in the scallop along the flanks running from the rear of the front wheel arch and along the doors. The line that flows from the top of the front wing along the side and up over the rear wheel is classic Ferrari and has appeared on countless models from the 166 MM Barchetta onwards.

It seems that people who have not seen the car in person are comparing it to a variety of other cars based upon 2D photo images. The Roma needs to be seen in person before making a definitive judgement as there are a lot of subtle surface details going on that photo's don't always convey. It has a taught, muscular yet tailored look that the Italians seem to do so well.  It won't appeal to everyone but then very few designs do.

When you see the Roma beside an SF 90 it is clear the two designs are related yet sufficiently different that they do not fall into the Audi/BMW trap of same sausage, different lengths approach. The GT cars are hopefully once again going down the route of elegant styling leaving the mid engined cars to be the more visually flamboyant choice for buyers.