Casa Ferrari was home to a very special guest just for the weekend that also happened to be the F1 weekend in Abu Dhabi. The new Ferrari SF 90 Stradale was stopping over in the UAE and I was among the fortunate few to steal a glimpse of the new Ferrari with digital interiors and a hybrid heart.
First impression
The obvious reference of the initials in the name is to Scuderia Ferrari, the racing division of Ferrari that is celebrating its 90th founding anniversary. The bond between Ferrari’s track and road cars is seen again in the ‘stradale’ part of the name, which is a reference to the ‘road’ and the learning that translate from track to road-going models.
The sign-off for the SF 90 Stradale story says “beyond imagination”. For me, the first thing that is hard to imagine would be a Ferrari without its amazing sound. Anyway, as things stand now, this hybrid Ferrari is capable of doing 25 km in all-electric mode. Which means, you can listen to its sweet roar for the rest of the 600-odd kilometers!
From the way it sounds to the way it looks: As a Ferrari, the new SF 90 Stradale carries over some magic of the La Ferrari, especially in the fascia, and also the best design features from the new F8 Tributo, which itself is a very good looking Ferrari. Like the new heir to the V8 legacy, the SF 90 Stradale also eschews the presence of an ostensible spoiler wing and instead resorts to very pronounced aerodynamic features including a built-in slicer that turns to manage the down force and braking. The dual square lights in the rear lend a distinctive character while the raised exhausts tell a technical story while looking distinctively SF 90 Stradale.
Matteo, the Senior Product Manager from Maranello, showed me how the exhausts travel an even shorter distance than the F8 Tributo and has a much more direct exit plan. It is fully cast in Inconel, the light and highly heat-resistant material that F1 exhausts are fully and the F8 Tributo exhaust is partly made of.
Watch the official track drive video now
Interior controls
Inside, the new hybrid amazes by the lack of all the buttons – this is the Ferrari for the digital world. Behind the steering, the central instrument cluster features the first automotive application of a 16” curved HD screen, which can be fully configured and controlled using the controls on the steering wheel.
The gearshift levers – more like three studio-styled tuner switches – that seem to have sprouted on the clean central console are actually a merger of the past and the future of Ferrari. The automatic gearbox controls are now selected by a grille-style feature that references Ferrari’s legendary manual gearshift gate.
The SF90 Stradale also sees the debut of the new ignition key with full keyless technology, which will gradually be introduced across the rest of the range. Once started, the key will take pride of place on the central console.
Watch my first impression at the Casa Ferrari
The hybrid drivetrain
The most astounding part is perhaps the power itself. 1000 is the magic number in PS hat creates history by placing a V8 as the flagship of the Ferrari range for the first time. 780 of it comes from the V8 twin-turbo engine which is a full 4.0L instead of the 3.9 L turbo pot that we have seen so far. The balance 220 PS comes from three electric motors. Two of them feed the front wheels and the third one split their power between the rear wheels. The one at the rear, known as the MGUK (Motor Generator Unit, Kinetic) due to its derivation from the Formula 1 application, is located between the engine and the new 8-speed dual-clutch transmission on the rear axle. The mid-engine format still feeds the rear wheels. The configuration means, the SF90 Stradale can run on a front wheel drive format when it is purely electric or as an all-wheel drive when the engine and motors work in tandem. The new car gets a new transmission – an 8-speed ZF dual clutch gearbox. The car has the freedom to distribute torque from all or nothing to individual wheels making cornering the kind that made Sebastian Vettel’s eyes grow wide. That brings us to the grapevine.
Capable of impressing F1 legends…
And so, the story goes like, Sebastian Vettel very recently spared a few minutes to test the new SF90 Stradale on track before they flew out for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. We see (rather, the Ferrari executives saw) a Vettel-with-a-raised-brow walking towards the car after hearing that the car weighs 1570 kg! (The car is lightest with the Fiorano equipment, which has lots of carbon fibre, but can weigh almost a hundred kilograms more in its basic version!) Cut to a Vettel who returns from his track drive, beaming like a boy, and double-checking if he heard that figure right! The way the car flew off corners was compelling enough to alter his day’s schedule and scoop out a whole hour to have a dozen laps of fun with the 1000 hp car!
Until the time I get to experience that magic that moved a four-times F1 champion, the experience is summed up in mind-blowing figures like 0 – 100 kmph in 2.5 seconds and 0 – 200 kmph in 6.7 seconds. on the way to a top speed of over 340 kmph. But my hunch is that the real fun of driving the Ferrari SF 90 Stradale is beyond the hypercar swiftness. It should be more in the way the four wheels manage the immense torque in corners for super-sharp and super-quick handling. It must be about how the engine sitting a whole 50 mm lower makes possible an incredibly low centre of gravity that is translated into a personal racing experience – the kind that F1 legends can appreciate best.
Moving on from the legend-to-be narrative, here is more from the technical script.
Aerodynamic solutions
The stupendous power of the SF90 meant added heat output. Aerodynamic flows had to be relooked at and also downforce had to be increased to guarantee maximum stability.
The innovative shut-off Gurney, a patented active system located at the rear of the car, regulates the airflow over the upper body, reducing drag at high speeds with low lateral dynamics loads and increasing downforce in corners, under braking and during changes of direction.
Design
The SF90 Stradale moves away from the mid-rear-engined sports berlinetta proportions introduced on the 360 Modena twenty years ago and closer to Ferrari’s recent supercars. The frontal area of the cockpit is smaller and is placed closer to the front of the car to reduce drag, without affecting on-board comfort.
A sportier version
For the first time on a Ferrari, clients can chose between the standard car and a version with a more sports-oriented specification. The Assetto Fiorano specification includes significant upgrades, including special GT racing-derived Multimatic shock absorbers, extra lightweight features made from high-performance materials such as carbon-fibre (door panels, underbody) and titanium (springs, entire exhaust line), resulting in a weight-saving of 30 kg. Another difference is the high downforce carbon-fibre rear spoiler, which generates 390 kg of downforce at 250 km/h. The Assetto Fiorano includes Michelin Pilot Sport Cup2 tyres designed specifically to improve performance on the track in the dry. They feature a softer compound and fewer grooves than the tyres provided as standard.
Making the best better
The internal combustion engine: The turbo V8 in the SF90 Stradale produces 780 PS, which is 60 PS more than the F8 Tributo, the car created as a tribute to the F154 family engine, four-times winner of the International Engine of the Year award. So how did they make the best even better? Ferrari’s engineers started by increasing its capacity from 3,902 cc to 3,990 cc, thanks to a larger bore of 88 mm. Together with its 195cv/l specific power output, which is the highest in the segment, the engine also delivers 800 Nm of torque at 6,000 rpm.
The intake and exhaust system was completely redesigned. It now features a new, narrower cylinder head with a central injector and a 350-bar GDI, another first for a Ferrari V8. The SF 90 Stradale has a larger diameter intake valve and the ducts are all horizontally lined up at engine head height. Interesting anomalies contribute to the awesome performance of the new hybrid Ferrari. The turbo chargers sit at a lower than usual position while the exhaust line has been taken up – you can see the tail pipes raised to the upper half of the rear bumper. The turbos are now equipped with electronically-controlled wastegates to improve catalyser heating and new compressor volutes to optimise fluid-dynamics.
Instead of steel, the exhausts are purely made of Inconel – the more durable, lighter substance that partially made up the tailpipes in the Pista and F8 Tributo. The tailpipes are shorter too keeping the distance shorter and the centre of gravity lower. Beyond the technical aspects, the redesigned exhaust system makes no compromise on sound quality across the entire frequency range.
New 8-speed gearbox: In order to distribute the 780 PS, Ferrari has introduced a totally new gearbox. Instead of the 7-speed dual clutch transmission, the SF90 Stradale gets an 8-speed, oil-bath, dual-clutch transmission. The maximum torque boost is now 900 Nm, an increase of 20% on the current 7-speed. New gear ratios and improved efficiency lowers fuel consumption in urban and motorway driving (-8% in the WLTP cycle) and even on track (1% improvement in efficiency).
The SF90 adopts a dry sump and a much smaller clutch assembly. The gearbox is 20% smaller than the current one allowing it to be placed 15 mm lower, further lowering the centre of gravity. Moreover, it weighs 7 kg less – 10 kg less with the elimination of reverse gear allowing it to be taken care of by the front electric motors. The new clutch’s performance is 35% higher, transmitting up to 1200 Nm in dynamic torque in gearshifts. Thanks to new-generation actuation hydraulics, total clutch fill times have been cut to 200 ms compared to the 488 Pista’s 300 ms.
Electric Motors: The SF90 Stradale has three electric motors capable of generating a total of 220 cv (162 kW). A high performance Li-ion battery provides power to all three motors. In all-electric eDrive mode, driven by the two front motors independently powering either of the front wheels, the SF90 Stradale has a 25-kilometre range and maximum speed of 135 km/h with longitudinal acceleration of ≤0.4 g. Reverse can only be used in eDrive mode, which means the car can be manoeuvred at low speeds without using the V8. The front motors are integrated into the launch control strategy for maximum performance when accelerating.
Where is the battery placed? The classic place for the electric battery has been low under the seats but Ferrari’s engineers chose to put the battery pack immediately behind the seats, just above the chassis rear cross member. This ensures a short wheelbase for handling and lower weight, limiting the impact on the centre of gravity.
