Ferrari's SF90 Stradal hybrid supercar gets convertible version

MILAN -- Ferrari's most powerful production supercar, the SF90 Stradale plug-in hybrid, gets a convertible version.

The SF90 Stradale Spider has the same mechanical architecture as the SF90 Stradale coupe that was unveiled in May 2019.

Both are powered by a 3.9-liter, 769-hp, turbocharged V-8 gasoline engine combined with three electric motors with an output of 217 hp, yielding a total output of 986 hp (1,000 metric hp).

One electric motor is at the rear between the engine and the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission and there is one motor for each of the front wheels.

The SF90 Stradale Spider is Ferrari's first production plug-in hybrid convertible.

Just like its coupe sibling, the SF90 Stradale Spider gets its name by using the first two initials of the Scuderia Ferrari racing team while the number honors the 90th anniversary of the team's existence.

The SF90 Stradale Spider accelerates from 0 to 100 kph (62mph) in 2.5 seconds and has a maximum speed of 340 kph (211 mph).

It has an aluminum retractable hardtop that can be deployed in 14 seconds and can be folded when the car is moving. The hardtop uses only 100 liters of trunk space, according to Ferrari.

Ferrari said the aerodynamic development of the SF90 Stradale Spider had the goals of maintaining the SF90 coupe's performance levels with the hardtop deployed and to minimize aerodynamic turbulence and noise with the top retracted.

Optimization of flows in the mid-rear engine bay was also necessary because the hardtop compartment radically changes flows in the engine bay.

Ferrari said the SF90 Stradale Spider's styling when the hardtop is deployed is the same as the coupe even though the new car incorporates stowage for the hardtop and its lever system.

Interior dimensions have been slightly modified: the cockpit has been shifted forwards, the roof is 20mm (0.8 inches) lower than the coupe, the A-posts are more slender and the windscreen is more raked.

The SF90 Stradale Spider also has a dedicated racetrack specification called Assetto Fiorano (Fiorano is the Ferrari-owned test track).

The Assetto Fiorano includes the addition of lighter materials which reduce the car's weight by 21 kg (46 pounds), adjustable shock absorbers, a carbon fiber rear spoiler and track tires.

Ferrari expects a high proportion of the convertible's sales will be the Assetto Fiorano version, just as for the coupe.

The SF90 Stradale coupe's Assetto Fiorano versions account for about 40 percent of orders, a much higher level than expected. Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri said on the automaker's third-quarter earnings call on Nov 3.

Camilleri said the SF90 Stradale currently has the youngest customer order base across Ferrari's range. "That might be linked to hybridization and it is very encouraging," he said.

Deliveries of the SF90 Stradale coupe will start by the year-end, later than the planned timing of the first half of this year after the production ramp up was delayed by supply chain constraints due to the coronavirus pandemic.

European deliveries of the SF90 Stradale Spider will begin in the second quarter of 2021. U.S. deliveries will start in the third quarter of next year. In Italy it will cost  473,000 euros ($558,135), about 10 percent more than the coupe.

The SF90 Spider is the second new model unveiled this year by Ferrari after the Portofino M 8-cylinder roadster convertible shown in September.