Some Like it HОТ

We piloted Ferrari's fantastie new open-topped grand tourer through the craggy hills of Sardinia

- NICOLAS STECHER

Historians recognize the nebulous “Sea People” as the theorized destroyers of the Bronze Age, a borderless congregation of oceangoing folk who banded sails to wreak havoc across the Eastern Mediterranean, from the Levant to Egypt and deep into the fertile crescent. It has long been speculated that the ancient Nuragic Civilization was not only among, but one of the spearheads of, this vaguely named nautical pestilence. Inhabitants of Sardinia, the Nuragic were as mysterious as they were feared some 3,300 years ago.

This lost civilization stays close in mind when slicing through Sardinia, especially when passing the nuraghe, the crumbling fortress/ towers of the Nuragic. These spectacular ruins, still somehow shockingly intact as they rise into the horizon, remind you that we too are here to raze the Mediterranean landscape—except forget the oared galley, our chosen transportation being the latest steed from the Maranello stable: the newly unleashed Roma Spider.

The esoteric lures of ancient civilizations aside, Sardinia makes for one hell of a landscape for any drive. The second largest island in the Mediterranean, beset with towering cliffs and twinkling waves as far as the eye can see, would make a spectacular setting for a moped launch. Now try to envision what it’s like navigating the latest open-air version of Ferrari’s adored Grand Tourer bloodline.