The SF90 Stradale and where it stands in the list of the greatest Ferraris ever built

Photos: Ferrari

Celebrating 90 years of Scuderia Ferrari, the SF90 Stradale is a very significant car for Ferrari. On November 16, 1929, Enzo Ferrari founded the Scuderia Ferrari team to be the racing team of Alfa Romeo. So the initial interest of Enzo was not to produce road cars but to build a "Ferrari stable." He bought, prepared, and fielded Alfa Romeo racing cars for gentleman drivers. A lot has happened between Enzo Ferrari and Alfa Romeo, until this relationship ended in September 1939, when Ferrari left the company because of a clause stating that he would not use the Ferrari name in association with races or racing cars for at least four years.

The whole point of this history throwback is to show you the importance of Scuderia Ferrari in Enzo’s eyes. He decided to fund his Scuderia Ferrari project by reluctantly building and selling his own production road cars. The first Ferrari-badged car was the 1947 125 S. The Scuderia Ferrari name was resurrected to denote the factory racing cars and distinguish them from those fielded by customer teams. 90 years later, a car that shares its name with the SF90 Formula One car, with SF90 standing for the 90th anniversary of the Scuderia Ferrari racing team and "Stradale" meaning road.

A series of new Ferrari cars have been unveiled in a short period of time: the 812 GTS, Roma, F8 Tributo, F8 Spider, and SF90 Stradale, which took everyone by surprise. Why?

Before we get into the engineering geeky parts, we saw the exterior of the car, and it’s an unusual-looking Ferrari; a new design we did not expect to see, unlike the F8 Tributo that is based on the 488 GTB. The futuristic look of the SF90 is generated by the new-styled headlights that hail a move away from the L-shaped look to a slender slit design integrated with the brake air intakes, resulting in a characteristic C-shape. In addition to using matrix LED headlight technology for the first time!

The rear lights are no different from the front, as they have quite evolved from Ferrari’s iconic round shape. The car designed by Flavio Manzoni and his team also has an aeronautical cockpit thanks to a more curved windshield and because the cabin is lowered by 20mm thanks to a very low center of gravity achieved by the mid-mounted engine.

The car has three electric motors: one located between the engine and the 8-speed dual-clutch transmission on the rear axle and two on the front axle.

Let’s get into the signature part of the SF90 Stradale! It is not just Ferrari’s first PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle), but also Ferrari’s first all-wheel-drive two-seat sports car!

It took Ferrari seven years to reincarnate its first ever hybrid hypercar, the LaFerrari, with a more complex PHEV. Unlike its counterpart, the SF90 boasts a more powerful 7.9 kWh lithium-ion battery for regenerative braking, giving the car 26 km (16 miles) of electric range and enabling it to operate at speeds of up to 84mph before the twin-turbo V8 engine needs to kick in. Since we’re talking numbers, the three electric motors generate a combined output of 220 PS (162 kW; 217 bhp), and the twin-turbocharged V8 engine is rated at a power output of 780 PS (574 kW; 769 hp) at 7,500 rpm. Total output? 1,000 PS (735 kW; 986 hp) at 8,000 rpm and a maximum torque of 800 N.m. (590 lb.ft.) at 6,000 rpm. The SF90’s battery powers the electric motors, and it’s charged either by a cable, by braking, or by the V8 motor acting as a generator.

The eDrive mode runs the car only on electric motors. The hybrid mode runs the car on both the internal combustion engine and the electric motors and is the car's default mode. The performance mode keeps the engine running in order to charge the batteries and keeps the car responsive in order to achieve optimum performance. The Qualify mode uses the powertrain to its full potential.

Although it’s faster than the LaFerrari, the SF90 isn’t limited to 499 units. According to Ferrari Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer Enrico Galliera, SF90 Stradale production is expected to continue for years to come. You can expect at least four years.

A turning point? Absolutely! The SF90 Stradale is what the LaFerrari was at the time—the pinnacle of engineering, innovation, and design. However, the technology used in this latest supercar from Maranello will change a lot in the conception of Ferrari cars regarding electric-only vehicles. Although it’s complex, this has established a solid base for the company, especially since we expect to see its first hyper SUV with an electric power train in 2022.