Ferrari's Most Powerful Car Ever is a Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle: the SF90 Stradale

The car is powered by a 4.0-liter turbocharged V8 that generates 769 horsepower and three electric motors for an additional 217 horsepower.
Loukia Papadopoulos

Ferrari launched its most powerful street-legal car ever and it turns out to also be a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. "The SF90 Stradale is the first ever Ferrari to feature PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) architecture which sees the internal combustion engine integrated with three electric motors, two of which are independent and located on the front axle, with the third at the rear between the engine and the gearbox," says the car's webpage.

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Three Electric Motors

The impressive car is powered by a 4.0-liter turbocharged V8 engine that generates 769 horsepower. But that's not all. The race car gets an additional 217 horsepower from its three electric motors.

Ferrari's Most Powerful Car Ever is a Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle: the SF90 Stradale
Source: Ferrari

This means it can go from zero to 62 mph in 2.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 211 mph. However, before you get too excited, it should be noted that its all-electric range is only 16 miles.

Still, the car is an impressive feat of engineering. For starters, the hybrid system added an extra 595 pounds.

To make up for that, Ferrari used carbon fiber and some forward innovations to save weight. For instance, Ferrari planned the hybrid system for reverse, allowing the carmaker to remove the reverse gear from the eight-speed gearbox.

Ferrari also made it a point to indicate that it used smart cooling flow management. "Meticulous attention was paid to the design of the engine bay which houses both the usual internal combustion engine systems that generate temperatures of nearly 900°C, and highly temperature-sensitive electronic components," reads the car's webpage.

Furthermore, the car's dual-clutch transmission is working with an all-wheel-drive (AWD) system, marking the first time Ferrari has put AWD on a sports car. The SF90 Stradale has four drive modes: eDrive, Hybrid, Performance, and Qualify.

Ferrari's Most Powerful Car Ever is a Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle: the SF90 Stradale
Source: Ferrari

eDrive is for combustion-less cruises while Hybrid alternates power draws between the electric motors and the V8. Performance uses the V8 to charge up the electric motors and, finally, Qualify takes maximum power from all at once.

90 Years in Racing

The car's name celebrates Ferrari’s 90 years in racing. "The reference to the 90th anniversary of the foundation of Scuderia Ferrari underscores the strong link that has always existed between Ferrari’s track and road cars," says the car's webpage.

"A brilliant encapsulation of the most advanced technologies developed in Maranello, the SF90 Stradale is also the perfect demonstration of how Ferrari immediately transitions the knowledge and skills it acquires in competition to its production cars."

The price for the SF90 Stradale has not yet been announced but deliveries are expected to begin early 2020. 

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