THE LA FERRARI REPLACEMENT?
The brand new Ferrari SF90 Stradale is the beginning of a new chapter in Ferrari’s linage, being the company’s first ever to boast a V8 hybrid system paired with 4WD allowing the car to make the dash from 0-100kph in 2.5 seconds and 0-200kph in a blistering 6.7 seconds officially setting a “new benchmark of excellence” says Ferrari. This brand new chapter for Ferrari is also to be paying homage to the 90th anniversary of Scuderia Ferrari with its name SF90 (Scuderia Ferrari 90).
The SF90 Stradale is a 986BHP weapon which can reach a bone crushing 340kph top speed. The 986BHP makes this Ferrari’s most powerful road going vehicle of all-time, the power is delivered by not only two motors, but three, with the V8 motor alone producing 769BHP! When in the driver’s seat you’ll be faced with four all unique driving modes, here are three of them outlined;
eDrive - this mode disengages the V8 engine entirely and runs solely on the electric motor in front-wheel drive, in this drive mode the maximum speed is 124kph and go 25 kilometres in distance.
Hybrid - this mode will be where the car automatically goes to on start-up and sees the V8 running constantly and is utilised as the car sees fit.
Qualify - as the name suggests this is best used on the racetrack where all electric motors work as hard as possible to prioritise speed over a long lasting battery.
Even with all this technology the SF90 weighs in at a respectable 1570kg total, which by todays standards isn’t too bad, yet still more than 200kgs heavier than the La Ferrari hypercar, which weighed in at 1255kgs.
The cockpit of the SF90 has also taken a new turn for Ferrari giving its drivers a new overhauled environment to take a seat in, familiarity is also important to Ferrari, so things like the indicator and wiper stalks have remained obsolete and stay in their exisiting place on the steering wheel for the intention that driver’s do not have to take their hands of the wheel.
The question asked by many is whether this is the Ferrari La Ferrari’s new replacement? the answer to that being no, this new Ferrari is the beginning of the next chapter in the automotive world, The SF90 is going to be Ferrari’s first series production hypercar, meaning there are no limited quantities like the La Ferrari with only 499 being built and no such price tag to match the La Ferrari either, what we have here then is the future. The La Ferrari, McLaren P1 and the Porsche 918 Spyder were a peak into the future in 2013 when they were revealed, only now are we seeing such hypercars being made in larger numbers and at the same time not taking on the flagship position for the company like the previous hypercars did.
It can be looked upon in many ways that cars such as this are looking to be the future and even now the present of the automotive industry. It’s sad that the once almighty high revving, manual, naturally aspirated Ferrari’s of old are no more and haven’t been for a while now. Now even turbo-charging is being taken over by electric motors. Since it all feels like it’s moving so fast it is hard to adjust to. The days of old are often reflected upon as better times for the automotive industry, with little restrictions stopping companies from producing exactly what they wanted to produce, innovation took precedence, where now its a world of emission standards and overbearing safety features.
Whether you love it or hate it, it is the reality of the automotive industry. We are all just passively along for the ride now. We can only be thankful that we got the cars we did in the past and they will always remain. But we should also look to the future and give this new breed of hypercar, like the SF90 Stradale, a chance to make its own mark in automotive history.
The Ferrari SF90 Stradale is set to be available in 2020, although Australia's allocation of vehicles have already sold out despite the upwards of $1 million dollar price tag.
