08/04/2026
(High Plains Raceway Car Meet #1, 2026): The elegant dancer vs the brutal german pitbull!
Ferrari's design department, I think most of us will agree, isn't really what it used to be. After Pininfarina split from the prancing horse, Ferrari's design language might best be described as “fussy”. However, the Roma is a notable exception to that downward trend. Classy, timeless, and oh-so beautiful, the Roma shows Ferrari knows how to do seductive design when they regulate their impulsive thoughts. Now I know what you're thinking: “It's a GT car Cody, of course it'll be more restrained”, but that's not a good enough excuse for what Ferrari's been designing lately. Yes, car type matters within the context of how a vehicle is styled, but as ever, that doesn't mean anything and everything is a good idea just to make a design look “different”. Of course, nor am I advocating for never taking risks. What I'm really trying to say is that Ferrari's judgement on what makes a good design seems to have lapsed. They're over-designing some of their models and the Roma is a bittersweet example of how their new design language is properly beautiful when reigned in a bit.
Now the Audi, on the other hand, is wonderfully brutish. Square, brick-y, meaty, and oddly intimidating the way old Audis should be. This late 90s-era S4 is what happens when the guy in the suit decides to flex his muscles a bit. It's certainly not a rally car the way the Quattro was, but that doesn't mean all of that aura was left behind in the forests of Finland. Make no mistake, this Audi still knows how to slug it out.
,