By Tycho de Feijter for 6th Gear Automotive Solutions.
Haarlem, June 2019.
This is the new Ferrari SF90 Stradale, launched to celebrate Ferrari’s 90th birthday. The SF90 Stradale is a hybrid supercar for the road. The Stradale name is normally used for road-going versions of race cars. In this case, Ferrari has stretched things a bit, because the only race car bearing the SF90 name is this year’s Formula 1 car!
Naming issues aside, the SF90 Stradale is a seriously fast. It is powered by a twin-turbocharged 4.0 liter V8 petrol engine, good for 769. In addition to that, it 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, each one powering one front wheel. Output of the three motors is 217 hp, making for a rated total output of 986 hp.
Fun fact: the new 8-speed DCT does not have a reverse gear. How then, does it reverse? By using the motors on the front wheels!
All this power makes for lots of speed: 0-100 in 2.5 seconds, 0-200 in 6.7 seconds, and a top speed of 340 kilometers per hour.
Such speed needs good stoppers, and happily the SF90 Stradale’s brake system in very advanced. It is fully brake-by-wire, without any real connection between the pedal and the brakes. The system comes with kinetic energy recovery during braking, through the electric motors by implementing an electronically controlled mix of hydraulic and electric braking. Under normal braking conditions, energy recovery with the electric motors is the priority. The hydraulic system intervenes only to support the electric one under hard braking.
Even more interesting is the brake cooling system. The air enters the system via the air intakes under the headlights. It is then guided to the brake calipers, and those calipers have integrated cooling ducts, sending the air directly onto the brake discs. The calipers were developed together with Brembo, a long-time supplier of Ferrari. The SF90 Stradale is the first road car to have brake calipers with integrated cooling ducts. The rear brakes are cooled by the air flow from two air intakes on the underbody near the rear wheels.
Probably the most advanced Ferrari ever, with an innovative and groundbraking brake system.