Given that it’s a product of Ferrari’s XX programme, the SF90 XX Stradale shouldn’t really be road legal.

But the motorsport arm broke its own rules recently when it created the new limited edition SF90 Stradale and Spider sports cars for clients seeking a race-car-for-the-road of the kind only Ferrari could build.

Not surprisingly the SF90 XX Stradale has just broken the lap record for the fastest-ever lap of Fiorano in a homologated road car. It lapped the Ferrari-owned circuit, located near Maranello, in just 1’17.309 with Ferrari’s Head of Development Test Driving Raffaele de Simone at the wheel.

The time and the telemetry was independently measured and certified by a specialist third-party motor sports agency, Ferrari said.

The XX Stradale is one special sports car. It’s based on the SF90 plug-in hybrid model that was first revealed in 2019, but gains additional ponies and a specially-honed chassis.

The hybrid system pairs a mid-mounted 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 petrol engine with three electric motors, including one on the front axle, for a system output of 758kW, which is a 22kW increase over the regular version.

That, they say, is enough to catapult it from 0-100km/h in just 2.3 seconds.

The good folk in Maranello also spent considerable time honing the soundtrack, implementing a hot tube system to transmit the combustion pulsations into the cabin. Ferrari says the use of innovative materials has improved the acoustic clarity of the system, resulting in a “wonderfully rich explosion of iconic Ferrari V8 sound”.

The aerodynamic package and chassis have also been tuned for extreme track driving, so much so that Ferrari says the SF90 XX is its most aerodynamically efficient road car ever.

The comprehensive aero package includes a fixed rear wing, inspired by the XX Programme race cars, as well as a larger front splitter designed to generate a highly energised tube of air flow underneath the car.

“The focus with the SF90 XX Stradale’s development was to produce the most high-performance Ferrari road car ever that also delivered maximum fun behind the wheel, whilst fully retaining all of the functionalities of the SF90 Stradale’s hybrid powertrain,” Ferrari said.

“Usability of performance was especially important, particularly in terms of the electric mode’s ability to deliver surprisingly high performance driving both in typically urban settings and in out-of-town trips – in fact, the top speed in eDrive mode is 135km/h.”

Ferrari intends to build just 799 of the hard-top Stradale versions and 599 open-top Spiders.

IOL Motoring