It's been more than two years since I was last here, in Fiorano. This is Ferrari's own test circuit in Italy.
However, there's a difference. Back then, it was cold and raining, and the car next to me was inside and we weren't allowed to show..
or drive it yet. But today things are different.
Before we do however, let's talk a bit about the car. This is the first time we've seen it.
It's the SF90, which stands for the 90th birthday of the Scuderia Ferrari. SF90 explained.
Also, it's a hybrid. Not their first, because the LaFerrari was, but this the first plug-in hybrid. That's right, you can plug it in.
With that, you've got an electrical range of 25 kilometres at a maximum speed of 135 km/h.
And this is the first hybrid drivetrain built in regular production by Ferrari. The LaFerrari was a limited edition vehicle.
This car is being built in series. And with that, it's the top of the range car from Ferrari.
It's powered by a 4.0-litre V8, which is slightly bigger than the 3.9-litre V8 found in other Ferrari's.
It's got a slightly bigger bore of 88 mm and the engine has a completely different setup.
It's lower, wider, lighter, and it's connected to three electric motors. Two on the front axle, and one between the V8 and the...
8-speed double clutch automatic gearbox. The battery pack is right between the engine and the front seats.
It's a 8 kWh-unit, which charges incredibly quickly. And it discharges just as quickly too, to maximize performance.
The combustion engine already produces 780 horsepower and 800 Nm of torque, but if you add the performance of the hybrid drivetrain as well,
you've got an additional 220 horsepower, for a total of almost 1.000 horsepower. In a road car. Those are Formula One-numbers.
And because this is just a serial production car, the price is relatively low. It's 'only' €452.000. That's still a huge amount of money, but considering...
it produces 1.000 horsepower and this kind of performance, it's a relatively low price.
The design then. It has a few similarities with the F8 Tributo, but it's a completely different design nonetheless.
It's not very elegant or beautiful, but it's very impressive and brutal. It's very clear that function goes before shape.
It needs to serve a purpose, and if it looks good while doing it, that's a nice bonus.
Take these vents underneath the headlights for example. The air that's blown in there, is able to cool the brakes.
In the wheels, you've got some kind of skirts that rotate the air outwards again. That increases the downforce. So the whole...
car is designed for aerodynamics and cooling. That's because all of the elements in the car like electronics, batteries and such need cooling.
And cooling needs to come from somewhere, that's why there's all these vents which let air flow into the intercoolers.
Walk with me, will you. If you're driving, the driving wind will flow past here.
And over here, you've got the so-called Shut-off Gurney-flap, named after former McLaren-driver and team owner Dan Gurney.
And it's nothing more than some sort of ducktail-lip that blocks the air. And this piece here lowers, instead of a raising spoiler.
That creates some sort of vortex, in which the air rotates and generates a low pressure-area.
And it generates a lot of extra downforce. I'm talking about 390 kg at 250 km/h. That's more than the SF90 Stradale generates. This is...
the Assetto Fiorano after all. And it's extremely light, because this car has been specially developed for the track.
Take this engine cover for example. An incredibly beautiful engine at that. But this cover is made out of lexan.
Usually, it's made of glass, but this lexan is some sort of plastic which is a lot lighter. And there are a lot of other elements that are lighter.
30 to 40 kg to be precise. Most of the car is made out of carbon for example. The door panels, the tub, the middle console,
that all saves weight. And if you really want to go hardcore, you can lose an additional 10 kg.
However, you won't have an audio system, no central heater. You only get heat from the engine.
And with that, Ferrari is able to scoop some additional weight which can make this car 40 kg lighter than the Stradale.
And before I forget; the exhaust is made mostly out of titanium instead of steel, which saves weight as well. And let's talk...
about the springs and dampers. The dampers are Multimatics, which are passive. As opposed to the adaptive dampers on the Stradale.
And the same goes for the springs. Usually, they're made from steel, but on here, they're made from titanium. That saves another 8 kg.
Earlier this morning, I did a little recon driving to get to know both the car and the track.
So they're thinking I've got it all under control now.
Right now, I'm driving behind the pace car.
And the car has been fitted with Michelin PilotSport Cup 2R-tires. This morning, I drove PilotSport Cup 2-tires, without the R.
That means these should offer more grip, despite having driven several laps already.
Over the bridge here, the car gets loose a little.
Right, 780 horsepower coming from the V8 and 220 horsepower coming from the electric motor. That means I've got 1.000 horsepower underneath...
my right foot.
That means I can do 0-100 km/h in 2,5 seconds, 0-200 km/h in 6,7 seconds... My god this is quick.
Change down twice, steer in, and let the grip take over.
Just so you know, this has four-wheel drive. The front wheels are powered by the electric motor, which pull the car out of the corner.
The Manettino is set to 'Race', which is the second most extreme setting. I can turn off the DSC as well, but I'm going to wait to do that.
When you put my foot down, you can feel the electronics come to life.
This is the fastest bend on the track, turn 7... I have to brake hard here...
You can easily dose the braking, and it regenerates of course. It also has normal brake-by-wire-responses, which are harder to coordinate.
Right. Number 3. Oh, it seems we're already in the cooling-down lap.
According to Ferrari, this Assetto Fiorano is supposed to be half a second quicker than the Stradale. On this track that is.
They also say that the extra downforce generated by this car is much more usable on tracks with long and fast corners.
So on this track, it's only half a second quicker.
Right then, the V8. I can't really tell you anything about the noise, because this helmet cancels out a lot of the noise.
But it's a twin-turbo V8, which smothers the sound as well. It's not the high-revving, screaming noise anymore we were used to back in the day.
And I have to say, the cooperation between the electronics, the electric power and the mechanical power is incredibly impressive.
Right now, we're going into the pits to check tire temperatures et cetera. After that, we're doing two hot laps, so stay tuned.
You know what, I'm going to turn the Manettino to CT Off, which turns off the DSC. Let's see what happens.
I can feel it already. I'm not even going that fast but the rear is clearly trying to break out more.
It's much more loose already. You can really tell the difference.
I have to release the throttle here because of possible noise complaints from the surrounding area, but when I pass the bridge...
My god...
Back to third, get the inside of the corner, back on the throttle...
I'm really fighting with the car right now, with the DSC turned off.
When you exit a corner, the rear really wants to get away from you.
The engine peaks at 8.000 RPM and produces it maximum amount of power at 7.500 RPM.
You can clearly feel it pushing outwards. The front wheels are still in play, but a lot less than in Race-mode.
And that wasn't easy to begin with. Despite that, I'm glad I've tried out this mode as well, because it becomes an entirely different car.
Right, the final lap.
The dampers aren't even incredibly hard or anything. I mean, you'd think you'd be bouncing around the track because it's a supercar.
Instead, they're soft. Or not really soft, but really good for the track. They respond so incredibly quickly.
The final hairpin now...
It's incredibly quick in these corners. This is where the additional downforce is supposed to come in very handy, to win that half a second.
And what's very cool, to remain in the spirit from before, is the way you change the driving direction.
Back in the day, you had a gear lever, and now you've got a button to select either manual or automatic mode.
And that has concluded my lap, or should I say laps on Fiorano.
And I immediately ask myself the question if this is old-fashioned hardcore driving pleasure. Is this the good-old mechanical screaming Ferrari from back...
in the day? Of course not. It just isn't. It's a bit smothered, it's clearly the electronics doing all of the work.
All of the systems that work together seemlessly. So when it comes to goosebumps, emotions, the noise of a screaming V8,
you kind of lose a little bit of the mojo. However, you do win a lot when it comes to efficiency and lap times.
Because that's what it's all about. All of the systems and electronics aboard make sure that this thing goes so incredibly quick.
i'm not going to say that it goes unnoticed, because if you turn off all of the systems, it's quite the handful. I mean come on,
1.000 horsepower. It's incredibly fun and it's incredibly different than we're used to from Ferrari.
And considering this Assetto Fiorano costs an additional €50.000 compared to the Stradale, it's €10.000 per tenth of a second.
On this track that is, so that's nuts. But undoubtedly, there will be people who want the best of the best. The quickest of the...
quickest and the most efficient supercar possible. Ferrari is a manufacturer that has a lot of credit.
They've got such an image, such a strong brand. And because they have to move with the times, this hybrid step is a logical one.
Of course, they will be making cars with conventional drivetrains as well, but that's going to be rarer.
But if this is going to be the future, I'm not worried at all.