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When you first spy Ferrari’s new 200mph Roma grand tourer you half expect to see a tall, dark and rather dangerous looking athletic man in a dinner jacket and bow-tie step out and be greeted with the words: ‘We’ve been expecting you, Mr Bond.’
For make no mistake, this Italian luxury sports car-maker really is gunning for 007’s favoured car of choice, Britain’s own Aston Martin.
And though priced from £170,984, customers are likely to spend over £200,000 given the list of tempting but expensive extras.
Having driven the svelte and spirited new Roma coupe on rather dampened British soil, both on the track at the fabled Goodwood racing circuit and out and about on the highway, I was left in little doubt that this is Ferrari’s gamble on an ‘Aston Martini’ cocktail: mixed to leave you stirred, not shaken, but with a very distinctive and spicy Italian twist.