As an object lesson in corralling the discordant forces of petrol and electricity, it’s stunning

There are three electric motors. You can plug it in. It starts silently, and it can drive silently. There’s never been a Ferrari that can do that before.

Nor has there been one where the brake pedal isn’t directly connected to the callipers. Or one without a mechanical rev counter behind the steering wheel. There isn’t even a reverse gear in the gearbox – but relax, there is one elsewhere.  

And yet this is Ferrari’s fastest, most powerful road car ever. Quicker around the Fiorano home circuit than the LaFerrari, delivering 986bhp (that’s a metric 1,000hp) to the road – the same as a Bugatti Veyron, but with basically half the engine capacity and turbos, and weighing several hundred kilos less.

So yes, it’s fast – 0-62mph in 2.5secs, 124mph in 6.7secs – the latter figure 1.5secs ahead of the F8 Tributo, and in the same league as the Koenigsegg One:1 and McLaren Senna, both of which are in a different price league. 

It’s a crossover really, bridging the gap between supercar and hypercar. Hypercar performance, supercar price.

Well, not really.

In fact it’s probably the most any firm has ever dared to charge for a non-limited edition model: £376,048. Plus all the options.

You’ll do well to escape having spent less than half a million once Ferrari has talked you into the weight saving Assetto Fiorano pack (30kg removed for £39,360) and a comprehensive carbon strategy. 

This is what comes as standard. An aluminium (not carbon, aside from the rear bulkhead) chassis that has some commonalities with the F8 Tributo, but is 20% stiffer.

The internal combustion engine is also similar to the one in the F8, and maybe the proportions haven’t changed that much – which might lead you to start wondering where your money’s going when the price has almost doubled.

Take the engine. It uses the same basic block, but pretty much everything – turbos, inlet and exhaust manifolds, the entire, radically different cylinder head, crankshaft, pistons – is new.

It’s direct injection. That’s a first for a Ferrari V8. It’s wider bore. Delivers another 59bhp for a 769bhp total.

It’s 25kg lighter than the F8 engine, and mounted 50mm lower in the chassis. When you open the cover and look down at it, it appears to be subterranean. The exhaust is made from Inconel, like an F1 car. 

It’s 4wd. There are three electric motors. You can plug it in. It starts silently, and it can drive silently. There’s never been a Ferrari that can do that before.

Nor has there been one where the brake pedal isn’t directly connected to the callipers. Or one without a mechanical rev counter behind the steering wheel. There isn’t even a reverse gear in the gearbox – but relax, there is one elsewhere.  

It’s a crossover really, bridging the gap between supercar and hypercar.

Hypercar performance, supercar price. Well, not really. In fact it’s probably the most any firm has ever dared to charge for a non-limited edition model: £376,048.

The significance of the SF90 cannot be over-stated.

The LaFerrari was a toe in the hybrid waters. This is the running jump.

It’s Ferrari’s flagship, the one from which learning will cascade down, and it’s the biggest direction change, the most sweeping embrace of new technology in living memory, and one of the most important cars ever to emerge from Maranello. 

As preparation for what lies ahead it’s spot on, although there’s no denying that part of what lies ahead is a lessening of the internal combustion engine’s influence.

Ferrari has mastered the technology, but it hasn’t managed to make electricity sound or behave differently to anyone else. But for now, there’s nothing else out there like it, which puts Ferrari in a commanding position ahead of its rivals.

Pop down to your local dealer and grab one today!

Source | TopGear