Ferrari Amalfi debuts in Malaysia – 640 PS/760 Nm V8 2+2 coupe takes over from Roma, fr. over RM1.1m est.

Nearly six years after the Ferrari Roma was introduced in Malaysia, its successor has arrived, with the Ferrari Amalfi making its local – and ASEAN regional – debut earlier today. The V8 2+2 coupe is effectively a refreshed Roma, bearing new skin, under which sits tweaked mechanicals and improved performance, complete with a new moniker, in this case after the idyllic seaside town in Italy.

In keeping with the car’s sport/lifestyle brief, the exterior retains the Roma’s general profile and cab-rearward proportions, although the front and rear end feature significant rework. The Amalfi’s face is cleaner, minimalist in its approach – instead of a traditional grille, there’s a floating body-coloured wing above a dark slim band that integrates sensors and narrow headlights.

The theme continues at the back with even slimmer quad taillights, again integrated into a black strip, and a bumper with more vertical surfacing, visually accentuated by a large rear diffuser with quad tailpipes. The active rear spoiler, previously awkwardly located aft of the rear windscreen, has been moved to the trailing edge of the boot lid and made wider, cutting rear lift in concert with a new, taller High Downforce service position.

As before, the active rear aero unit can assume three configurations — Low Drag, Medium Downforce, and High Downforce (HD), and in its HD position generates a downforce increase of 110 kg at 250 km/h with less than a 4% increase in drag. This is an improvement over the 95 kg of downforce generated by the Roma.

Like its predecessor, the Amalfi continues to tread the turbocharged petrol-only route, with the familiar F154 3.9 litre twin-turbocharged V8 continuing to hold court, now in BH guise. It’s lighter by around two and a half kilogrammes – new lightweight camshafts have lopped off 1.3 kg, and precision machining done to the engine block to remove non-structural material contributed about a kilogramme in weight savings.

Output is up from the Roma, of course, but not by much, with a modest 20 PS increase from the BE iteration of the mill on the Roma to 640 PS at 7,500 rpm. As for torque, it remains unchanged at 760 Nm from 3,000 to 5,750 rpm. The increased power comes courtesy of a few tweaks, including recalibrated turbos that now spin up to 171,000 rpm, which together with a dedicated cylinder pressure sensor on each bank also improves throttle response and boost pressure control.

Throttle response has also been bumped up thanks to the use of a flat-plane crankshaft, compact low-inertia turbines, twin-scroll technology for separate exhaust gas management and a single-scroll manifold with equal-length runners, with the result being a stronger, more consistent pull across mid to high revs.

Power continues to be sent to the rear wheels via the eight-speed wet dual-clutch transmission first seen on the SF90 Stradale, and the unit for this application now gets a more powerful TCU and deeper integration with the engine software for improved shift smoothness and speed.

The Amalfi also gets a new ECU lifted from the 296 GTB, Purosangue and 12Cilindri. To keep things in line with stricter noise emission regulations without compromising tonality, the exhaust adopts a new silencer layout and a proportionally-controlled bypass valve.

Given the modest increase in power output, the improvements in speed performance are, as expected, marginal, with the Amalfi doing the 0-100 km/h run in 3.3 seconds, which is a tenth of a second faster than the 3.4 seconds accomplished by the Roma. As for the 0-200 km/h run, it takes nine seconds flat for the Amalfi, which is three tenths of a second faster than on its predecessor. Top speed remains unchanged at 320 km/h.

Braking performance and handling have likewise been given a lift. A new brake-by-wire system improves braking efficiency, reduces pedal travel and enhances modulation, and it also enables the introduction of the 296’s ABS Evo system to improve performance on all surfaces, using a precise speed estimate from the car’s 6D sensor to optimise wheel slip and thus, brake force distribution.

Additionally, a revised electric power steering, which estimates grip 10% faster and more accurately, improving steering response and effectiveness, finds its way on.

The presentation of the Amalfi’s interior departs from the dual-cockpit design of the Roma, with the cabin now featuring a twin-cowl design similar to familial offerings, making it airier looking as a result. The route also means that the portrait touchscreen – and flying console – seen previously is gone, replaced by a 10.25-inch landscape display screen.

The centre console adopts a more traditional approach, being a horizontally oriented unit machined from a single block of aluminium. This houses the “gated” gear selector and a Qi wireless charger. Other bits include a new HMI, 15.6-inch digital instrument display and an optional 8.8-inch slim passenger screen as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.

In line with the approach taken with the F80, the multi-function steering wheel reverts to physical buttons instead of haptic controls, complete with the return of a start button. Items on the optional kit list for the car include a 14-speaker Burmester Premium Audio sound system and comfort seats with a massage function.

The Amalfi also debuts a new Verde Costiera exterior colour option, as worn by the left-hand drive launch unit, and a Verde Bellagio interior colour scheme (the launch car appears to wear a leather colour of the Sabbia variety).

The car continues to ride on 20-inch rollers, but there’s a new intricately-designed turbine-style option, wrapped in 245/35 R20 front and 285/35 R20 rear tyres. Speaking of rubber, two co-developed tyre options (Bridgestone Potenza Sport or Pirelli P Zero) are available for the car.

As for pricing, no Malaysian price was stated for the car, with the use of European pricing for the Amalfi providing an indicated baseline figure for it here. That sum is 240,000 euros, translating to over RM1.1 million when converted at the current exchange rate, fluctuations included. That baseline figure obviously excludes the usual customisation options, duties, taxes and insurance. In any case, that’s not very far away from the Roma’s base price of RM968,000 when it was launched here back in 2020.

GALLERY: Ferrari Amalfi, LHD version

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