We’re driving the 2021 Ferrari SF90 Stradale on the track

Fiorano. The word, let alone the actual location, is bursting with visions of Michael Schumacher, who obsessively puts off Formula 1 test drives round after round; of Ferrari 288 GTO and F40 prototypes refining the jagged edges of their track chops; of Big Ideas pressure tested under the watchful eye of il Commendatore before taking refuge in the sky for the big paddock in 1988. If old Enzo could magically materialize and gauge the new, amazingly special Ferrari SF90 Stradale Assetto Fiorano today, the $ 567,490 (to start) wedge would arguably spark a cascade of questions.

What is it?

For example, why is the spiritual successor to the mighty LaFerrari not limited in production like Maranello’s earlier Halo cars? Should a jumping horse hypercar send its power – partly electrically, since it is a plug-in gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle – to all four wheels? And how on earth does this latest range topper deserve the nickname “Assetto Fiorano” when it can drive silently through traffic even in fully electric mode (up to 25 km)? Forgive the alleged reincarnation, but the prism of Fiorano – Ferrari’s famous 1972 test track – turns this 21st century flagship into a 986 horsepower puzzle wrapped in a COVID-19 puzzle.

Due to the whims of pandemic timing (or perhaps Ferrari’s desire to put its sharpest foot forward first), every SF90 Stradale we’ve previewed and driven (like recently on the streets of Los Angeles) contains the $ 56,240 Assetto Fiorano package. The bundle contains quite a bit of hardware. These include, for example, fixed dampers and weapon-grade titanium springs from Multimatic, which replace the standard adaptive chassis; Gummier Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber (also available with a Krazy Glue-like R-blend); a rear wing that can handle 859 pounds of downforce at 155 mph; Carbon fiber door and underbody panels, wheels, whatever; and some yummy tidbits like a Lexan Peekaboo engine cover and a titanium and inconel exhaust.

Fortunately, the 2021 Ferrari SF90 Stradale Assetto Fiorano is just a stone’s throw from Enzo’s old Fiorano track office and looks and sounds like part of embodied speed, thanks in part to the exhaust’s thinner, resonant Inconel installation. Yes, his profile reveals his ancestry: 458, 488, F8 Tributo. But these forerunners were or are more common strains on the front lines of the eternal supercar battle, not top-line hypercar war dogs like the Enzo or LaFerrari.

Many modifications under the skin of the SF90 Stradale illustrate and remove the apparent similarities, particularly the structural carbon fiber firewall behind the driver, which also provides a thermal break between passengers and the laser-welded, liquid-cooled 84-cell battery. Speaking of electrons: The single rear and the two front electric motors are driven based on a complex matrix of destinations that depend on two sets of parameters.

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Gizmos, not gremlins

These parameters are defined by haptically activated dynamic settings on the left of the steering wheel (eDrive, Hybrid, Performance, Qualify) and the physical “manettino” rotary wheel on the right of the steering wheel, the stability and traction-related settings (wet, sport, racing, CT off, all systems out). Drive in full EV mode and you have the world’s first front-wheel drive Ferrari; Dial-a-Ride to turn CT off and power is distributed to the tail while the reins loosen for maximum waggability.

For our first setting, we’ll stick with the Performance and Race modes, which maintain the battery level for prolonged flogging while also preventing the Michelin Cup 2s from getting too far out of line. The driver’s seat is an aggressively padded, manually adjustable part of the Fiorano package that includes a racing harness. The pilot’s view offers a visual panorama of the electronica, from the 16.0-inch curved digital instrument panel to the head-up display as well as two so-called satellite screens and an 8.0-inch passenger screen. That’s a whole mess of pixels, but at least they’re crisp, colorful, and purposeful enough to be at home here on the racetrack, miles away from the picky tendencies of city drivers. Heck, if digital displays are good enough for Ferrari F1 drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, they might be good enough for you.

Although the haptic joy of the mechanical button start of a shiny haptic at the six o’clock position of the steering wheel has been lost, the subsequent Blat-a-tat-tat of the 4.0-liter V-8 offers an endearingly archaic counterpoint to the supposed march of progress, especially in this sharper than standard setup. Tap the giant carbon fiber paddle right to put in first gear, and the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission will bounce you forward gently enough to disarm – at least until you drop the hammer: the gas pedal ignites the full symphony of two 25,000 -RPM electric motors, an 8,500 RPM electric motor, and an 8,000 RPM Ferrari V-8 all spinning like crazy to distribute torque to specific wheels for maximum speed in all directions, from accelerating to braking to cornering and turning.

The driving experience

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Despite the Rube-Goldberg complexity of these tactics, the 2021 SF90 Stradale Assetto Fiorano manages to feel powerful, smooth, and cohesive through the steering wheel and pedals. The electric motors add an additional 132 pounds to the front axle, which removes some of the delicate lightness that was typical of models like the 458 Italia. But Ferrari’s signature quick steering and sometimes twitching response is replaced with stability and linearity that encourages heightened antics. Meanwhile, the electric motors offer excellent grip and tractor-like pulling power to drive the SF90 hybrid hypercar out of corners like an F / A-18 Hornet with a full afterburner.

We’ve chased Raffaele de Simone, Ferrari’s factory GT development driver, around the dozen corners of Fiorano in a variety of Ferrari production models over the years. It usually takes at least a full session to fill the void at its effortlessly frenzied pace. This time around, the SF90 Stradale’s ample front-end grip and responsiveness creates an eerie confidence in itself until it’s quite surprisingly un-Ferrari-like.

While the F12tdf and 488 Pista are effective at putting hair on your chest thanks to their electrifying engagement, the 2021 SF90 Stradale Assetto Fiorano feels more like a co-conspirator than a fighter the first time around. It offers brutal straight-line acceleration, yet obedient, tough, and manageable turns. As with other Ferraris, the race mode narrows down with an almost annoying, well-tempered power delivery, enough to pull in the rear and point the nose exactly in the direction in which you are pointing it. In this application, the process is supported by Torque Fill, which increases the thrust before the turbos spool up to God knows what speed, as well as subtle active aerodynamics that manipulate air resistance and downforce via a Gurney flap at the rear.

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We can counteract de Simone by braking late near the turn-in points, but there is no advantage for him in the middle or at the exit. Race mode, while seamless and seemingly unobtrusive, simply doesn’t transmit enough power to hurtle out of the corner violently enough to keep up with the seasoned pro. It goes on like this: Fast in, slow (ish) out as we try to bypass the SF90’s fast-thinking nannies who do hundreds of calculations per second. The Stradale is a remarkably powerful weapon even in this heavily managed attack, but beneath the surface are greater reserves, hidden capabilities, waiting for our next attempt on the roughly 3km circuit.

The afternoon comes not only with de Simone’s encouragement to unlock less restricted settings, but also with access to R-compound tires, Michelin’s ruthlessly sticky alternative to the already capable Cup 2s. The difference is remarkable. Switching to qualify mode unleashes the full 217 hp of the electric motors and empties maximum electrons from the battery in order to achieve peak times instead of long-term range. The telemetry later shows that the discharge rate is so strong that the 7.9 kWh battery alone lost around 13 percent of its charge straight away. Some of this power is regenerated when braking, but the net sum of the energy flow is determined by sufficient battery discharge to empty the reserves during a lap on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife.

When CT is switched off, the power flows more generously through the rear wheels and brings a liveliness that simply does not exist in the race setting. Uncorked, the 2021 Ferrari SF90 Stradale Assetto Fiorano swaps white glove for white ankle and behaves much more like you’d expect from a four-digit horsepower hypercar – without completely turning off all nanny systems. The high dynamic comes with enough steering and braking feedback to inspire confidence in the hardware despite the drive-by-wire setup.

Data later shows that using the more revealing settings saved us about five seconds per lap, which at least superficially reinforces the idea that nannies can actually slow you down. However, a deeper look at the telemetry lane diagrams also reveals the myriad of systems still working overtime to spin, accelerate, and corner the car through vectoring and torque fill. so much for the triumph of man and machine over science.

The numbers also speak for the 2021 SF90 Stradale Assetto Fiorano in contrast to its fearsome predecessors: the new model circles the Fiorano racetrack in 1 minute and 19 seconds, 0.7 seconds faster than the seemingly indomitable LaFerrari.

Why it matters

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If there’s one crucial point in experiencing the SF90’s Assetto Fiorano package at the eponymous circuit, it’s that the new high on the Ferrari lineup is both surprisingly elevated and remarkably accessible. Unlike the brand’s earlier flirtations with Unobtanium – extremely limited seven-digit copies given to a select few, many of whom were speculatively resold – the dream is now reproducible and serialized, although of course it still carries a high price tag that can come with Options easily exceed $ 750,000.

Once again the flagship is also an incarnation of Big Idea, a hopelessly optimistic execution under the premise that a hybrid does not have to sacrifice an iota of its worthiness of the route while striving for the greatest future-friendliness. The oversized achievements of the Ferrari SF90 Stradale Assetto Fiorano 2021 are also enough to justify Ferrari’s first hybrid V-6 powered production car, the upcoming 296 GTB. Ultimately, the SF90 is another great Maranello concept, evidence of an outrageous concept that Enzo might have been proud of.

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