The Ferrari Roma is being put out to pasture. After more than half a decade of making other GT cars look like they were designed by someone whose artistic reference points include the back of a cereal box, Ferrari's most elegant creation is about to be replaced. And I, for one, am not entirely sure how to feel about that. The Roma has always been something of an oddity in the modern Ferrari lineup. While the rest of Maranello's offerings have been getting progressively more aggressive – all sharp angles, massive wings, and enough air intakes to vacuum up small children – the Roma has been a bastion of understated elegance. It's a car that doesn't need to shout about its heritage because it's too busy whispering it into the ear of anyone with functioning eyeballs. News of the Roma's impending replacement comes courtesy of a teaser shared on Instagram, because of course it does. In this modern age, even Ferrari announces its new models through the same platform your aunt uses to post pictures of her cats wearing hats. The announcement, apparently aimed at Chinese customers, reveals that a "Roma Successor" will be unveiled on July 1st, as part of an event running from June 30th to July 2nd. One can only assume the extra days are needed for people to fully recover from the sight of whatever Ferrari has cooked up. What Could Be Under The Covers: Evolution, Not Revolution The teaser image itself is about as revealing as a nun's swimwear collection, showing nothing more than a generic car-shaped object under a cover. Ferrari could have saved time and just used a clip-art silhouette of "generic car" and achieved the same level of information disclosure. What we can reasonably infer, however, is that the new car will follow the Roma's grand touring formula. That means a front-mounted engine, a 2+2 seating arrangement (with the rear seats suitable only for people who've had their legs amputated), and styling that prioritizes beauty over outright aggression. The smart money says Ferrari will stick with a version of the twin-turbocharged 3.9-liter V8 that powers the current Roma. This magnificent engine produces 612 horsepower in its current form, which is about 600 more than you can realistically use on any public road without receiving a personal Christmas card from the local police department. Expect power to increase, because in Ferrari's world, the correct amount of horsepower is always "more than the last model had." Given Ferrari's history, this "successor" could well be a significant revamp rather than an all-new car. After all, this is the company that transformed the California into the Portofino and the FF into the GTC4Lusso, making substantial changes while keeping the fundamental architecture. It would make particular sense not to move too far from the Roma's formula when the Roma Spider convertible is still relatively fresh-faced. Fresh-roofless? You know what I mean. The Name Game: What Will Ferrari Call Its New Beauty? Just as night follows day and understeer follows a mid-corner throttle application in a front-wheel-drive car, a new Ferrari model means a new Ferrari name. And the company has been busy trademarking possibilities like a paranoid parent registering domain names for their newborn child. One strong contender is "Amalfi," which would tie in nicely with the car's grand touring credentials. Amalfi, for those who've spent their lives in a windowless room, is one of Italy's most stunning coastlines – a place of winding roads that seem purpose-built for a GT car with a sonorous engine note. It's the kind of name that immediately conjures images of sun-drenched drives and espressos at clifftop cafes. Other possibilities include "Mugello," "Milano," and "Montecarlo," though the latter might cause some legal headaches with General Motors, who have the Monte Carlo name trademarked under the Chevrolet brand. That would be a fascinating legal battle – the automotive equivalent of a heavyweight boxing match between a sleek Italian thoroughbred and a Midwest farmer in overalls. My money would be on Ferrari's lawyers, who probably all drive Ferraris bought with the proceeds of previous legal victories. Some suggest it might simply be called "Roma M," following the naming convention Ferrari used with the Portofino M. The "M" stands for "Modificata," which is Italian for "we've tweaked it a bit but want to charge you the price of an entirely new car." Though to be fair, in Ferrari's case, the tweaks are usually substantial enough to warrant the price tag. Personally, I'm hoping for something a bit more extravagant. Perhaps "Ferrari Magnifico" or "Ferrari Bellissimo," or maybe even “Ferrari Please Stop Buying SUVs And Buy This Instead, You Heathens.” Whatever Ferrari decides to call it, and whatever it looks like, it has enormous shoes to fill. The Roma is that rarest of things in the modern automotive landscape – a genuinely beautiful car that doesn't rely on aggressive styling elements to announce its presence. It harks back to a time when Ferraris were as much about elegance as they were about performance, when a grand tourer could be muscular without being muscle-bound. July 1st can't come soon enough. And if the replacement isn't at least as gorgeous as the Roma, I'll eat my driving gloves. Both of them.
