Ferrari Am alfi

CONTEXT is everything. Whether it’s knowing how much one loaf of bread costs compared with another, or understanding that a longer route to work will take less time due to prevailing traffic conditions.

- Richard Ingram [e-mail]

This kind of information lets us make judgements in an educated and effective manner. So when a car is labelled the ‘baby Ferrari’, it’s all relative. The Amalfi – a so-called “evolution” of the outgoing Roma – is still a £202k, near-200mph 2+2 that can sprint from 0-62mph in 3.3 seconds. This, then, is no diluted, half-fat prancing horse.

Replacing the Roma in the Italian manufacturer’s product range, the car you see here ushers in significant enough changes to warrant not only a new look, but a new name, too. Pulled in line with models such as the forthcoming Testarossa, it gets a cleaner front end with slim lights, connected via a narrow black bar spanning the entire nose. The rear has been tidied up, too.

But it’s inside where you'll find the most obvious visual updates. Gone is the slightly awkward portrait touchscreen, replaced by a better integrated landscape display - now with Android Auto as well as Apple CarPlay connectivity. Also new for the Amalfi is a revised steering-wheel panel with physical switches and a big red starter button. It's much more tactile and infinitely more ergonomic; Ferrari says you can retrofit it to your Roma (or any other model with the old-style wheel) for around £5,000 all-in.

Under the metal, the familiar front-mid-mounted 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8 has been upgraded (from 612bhp) to deliver 631bhp and 760Nm of torque all sent to the rear wheels via an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. The Amalfi also benefits from a series of hardware changes, including a new ECU, new lightweight camshafts and a redesigned engine block.