Ferrari Roma vs. Aston Martin DB11 V8 Coupe

The Roma was designed by Flavio Manzoni and the brilliant minds at Ferrari Centro Stile. This stunning Grand Tourer embraces the concept of La Nuova Dolce Vita, or “The New Sweet Life,” and the joy of the concept expresses itself through the car’s stunning curves and smart design. Design News perhaps summed it up best by writing that the “Ferrari Roma brings classic Italian elegance back to Ferrari design.”

Nowhere is the difference between Aston Martin and Ferrari so apparent than in the eye test of the Roma and DB11 V8 Coupe. While every aspect of the Roma has been designed to maximize aerodynamic efficiency and driving pleasure, Aston Martin’s design choices imply that the same is not true of the DB11. Car and Driver notes one of these, writing that, “Although refinement is generally impressive, we experienced the same wind noise from the top of its doors at cruising speed that we’ve previously noticed in the V-12 DB11, something that should have been fixed in a car heading into its second year of production.”

Powertrain and Performance

When comparing the performance of these two vehicles, there really is no contest.

The Roma’s 3.9L twin-turbo V8 sings as it produces 611 hp and 561 lb-ft of torque, while the DB11 V8’s 4.0L engine falls behind with just 503 hp and 513 lb-ft of torque despite its greater displacement. This carries over to real-world performance: The Roma can go from 0 to 60 in 3.4 seconds and achieve a top speed of 200 mph, while the DB11 V8 is comparatively sluggish, reaching 60 mph in 4 seconds and offering a top speed of 187 mph.

We encounter a similar story when getting inside of each vehicle. The Roma’s symmetrical Dual Cockpit design ensures that both driver and passenger will feel intimately connected to the road, with an emphasis placed on creating an organic design that shares functions throughout the cabin. Some of this functionality is accessible through a digital instrument cluster that provides haptic feedback through the steering wheel, an 8.4-inch passenger display that shows performance date, and a central 8.4-inch touchscreen that enables control over climate functionality and media options.

This sensibility is missing from the DB11 V8, as much due to its larger size as due to the fact that it lacks the input of Ferrari Centro Stile. Beyond sensibility and into functionality, the DB11 doesn’t offer a touchscreen at all. More damning, Car and Driver notes that the build quality inside of the Aston Martin DB11 V8 is comparatively lacking, writing that “While the cabin is a huge improvement over older Astons, some of the switchgear still feels a little plasticky, the prime example being the toggle switches on the steering wheel that select the powertrain and chassis modes.”