First revealed in September this yr, the Ferrari 849 Testarossa has now made its ASEAN debut in Bangkok, Thailand. Just like the SF90 Stradale it replaces, the 849 Testarossa is on the market as each a coupe or convertible, the latter marked with a ‘Spider’ moniker.
While the brand new mid-engined sports automobile sits on the identical platform as its predecessor, the outside has been thoroughly overhauled with a give attention to improving aerodynamics and cooling. In comparison with the SF90, the 849 Testarossa generates a complete of 415 kg of downforce at 250 km/h, which is 25 kg greater than the SF90 Stradale, while cooling power for the powertrain and brakes is up by 15%.
At first glance, the design cue that immediately attracts eyeballs is the visor-like treatment on the face – per the 12Cilindri and F80 – that connects the headlamps. That is paired with a front bumper that’s less pointy than on the SF90 and has an 18% larger front air intake to maximise air flow to the radiators which have an increased surface area.
The front bumper also comes with body-coloured flicks and a black splitter, with the front brake air intake integrated into the upper a part of the duct and dedicated fairing of the oil pipe fixing bracket guaranteeing a 15% higher flow rate towards the front brake callipers.
Out of sight is the deflector below the lower wishbone that contributes to the ventilation of the disc. Meanwhile, the front underfloor serves up 35% of the entire downforce generated has been redesigned to feature three pairs of cascading vortex generators.
Ferrari also points out that the larger splitter is liable for 10% of the front downforce and that the air vents on the wheel arches and underfloor have been repositioned and optimised. Down the perimeters, the doors have a more deeply sculpted upper section to extend airflow by 30% to the intercoolers, which themselves have a 19% larger surface area. These side inlets also feed air through the channel scooped out within the door to the rear brake ducts and engine intake.
In comparison with the SF90, the fundamental crease line is even sharper on the 849 Testarossa, and this results in a twin tail design inspired by the 512 S race automobile from the Seventies. The 2 wing sections passively contribute 10% of the downforce on the rear, with an lively rear spoiler – derived from the SF90 Stradale and 296 GTB – further helping the explanation for taming the air.
Transitioning between High Downforce and Low Drag configurations takes lower than a second, with the kinematic solution developed for the lively spoiler now two kg lighter than before. In its High Downforce configuration, the spoiler provides as much as 100 kg of downforce at 250 km/h.
Measures have also been taken to extract air from the engine compartment, including the three slots on the side trim and a vent on the rear bumper. You’ll also notice the 2 slots on the rear deck near the lively spoiler and three more on the rear bumper to offer ventilation for the engine compartment and cooling of the electronics.
The Purosangue served as an inspiration for the rear wheel arch, which helps to evacuate the high-pressure air within the wheel housing and reduce drag. This works with the side flank intakes that see a 70% increase in airflow to the rear brake callipers – Ferrari states a 2% increase in overall brake cooling on the front and 15% on the rear.
All these airflow and cooling optimisations are meant to fulfill the 15% increase in thermal energy dissipation needed to maintain the uprated powertrain in check. The SF90 recipe is carried over for the 849, so there’s a dry-sumped 4.0 litre twin-turbo V8 augmented by three electric motors, with one for every front wheel and a MGU-K (Motor Generator Unit, Kinetic) sandwiched between the petrol engine and eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox on the rear.
The V8 (internally generally known as the F154FC) by itself makes 830 PS at 7,500 rpm and 842 Nm at 6,500 rpm, which is 50 PS and 42 Nm greater than the V8 within the SF90. A brand new, larger turbocharger, cylinder heads, engine block, exhaust manifolds, intake plenums, titanium fasteners, valve train system and fuel rail are liable for the increased output.

The turbo, the most important ever fitted to a Ferrari, comes with F80-derived low-friction bearings and is specifically calibrated to chop down on turbo lag to a negligible point. Lessons gained from the 296 GT3 are used for the warmth shield on the turbine casing to administer the turbo’s thermals. To offset the added weight of the massive blower, other parts of the engine are subject to a eating regimen, including the camshafts and the usage of titanium fasteners.
The electrified portion of the powertrain is essentially the identical, with the three electric motors contributing a complete of 220 PS. A revision is the lithium-ion battery that has a reduced capability of seven.45 kWh (7.9 kWh on the SF90), even though it still manages to offer the identical 25 km of all-electric range because of further optimisation – the 849 Testarossa is effectively front-wheel drive on this mode and maxes out at 130 km/h.
The top results of tinkering with the plug-in hybrid powertrain is a complete system output of 1,050 PS, which Ferrari says is an absolute record for a production Ferrari. “This automobile is conceived for essentially the most demanding clients; those that want the best from a Ferrari,” the Italian carmaker wrote in its release.
It is because of this that the ‘Testa Rossa’ name was brought back. As the corporate explains, the name was first used on the five hundred TR in 1956 and describes the color of the cam covers on a few of its most extreme, high-performance and iconic racing engines – the name translates to ‘red head’ in Italian.
Indeed, once you lift the engine cover, you possibly can see the red cam covers fitted to the 849’s engine, so the choice to bring a reputation that almost all associate with the strake-heavy hero automobile of Miami Vice fame within the mid Eighties is only to seek advice from a model on the very top of the Ferrari standard range (discounting the specials just like the F80). What in regards to the ‘849’ then? Well, the reason is way simpler: ‘8’ for the variety of cylinders while ‘49’ refers back to the 499-cc displacement of every of them.
Short history lesson over, the powertrain also gets reworked calibration for higher driving comfort to enhance the increased performance, with higher synergy between the electrical gubbins and combustion engine. The electrical motors are subject to recent cooling maps to make sure they deliver consistent performance under heavy load (i.e. intense driving).
Other areas of the automobile which might be improved over the SF90 Stradale include beefier Brembo brakes (larger carbon-ceramic discs, redesigned callipers), recalibrated regenerative braking for higher feedback and consistency in addition to the implementation of ABS Evo and FIVE.
The latter is the Ferrari Integrated Vehicle Estimator (FIVE) digital system, which creates a real-time digital twin of the vehicle, accurately estimating performance characteristics like speed (inside 1 km/h margin) and yaw angle (inside one degree margin) that can not be directly measured. The V8 also makes itself heard much more now, while the SF90 XX Stradale’s gear shift strategy is applied to the 849 Testarossa to optimise output in low and mid ranges
Proof that Ferrari’s efforts have paid off is available in the shape of lap times. Around the corporate’s Fiorano track, the 849 Testarossa managed a time of 1:17.5 minutes, which is 1.2 seconds quicker than the SF90 Stradale and only 0.2 seconds slower than the hardcore SF90 XX Stradale, although the latter sits within the ‘Special Series’ category and is restricted by way of units offered.
As for other performance metrics, the 849 takes 2.25 seconds to get from 0-100 km/h, with the sprint to 200 km/h requiring 6.3 seconds. These figures are barely faster that the two.5 and 6.7 seconds on the SF90, while top speed is listed at above 330 km/h.
Finally moving contained in the 849 Testarossa, there’s a brand new steering wheel that brings back physical buttons and the gear selector (styled to seem like classic gated shifters) is positioned higher up on a central pillar, very similar to within the F80.
The improved ergonomics is coupled with higher accessibility because of the reduced width of the underside of the door panel and adjoining areas, which frees up additional space for the rear bench and the passenger-side glove box. On that mention, your co-pilot now has a touchscreen to fiddle with.
Customers can select whether or not they want comfort-oriented seats, which include a sculptural treatment of the upholstery and styling that matches the geometry of the cockpit, or carbon-fibre racing seats with sporty side bolsters to carry you in place against strong lateral forces.
Other options include the Assetto Fiorano specification, which piles on the carbon-fibre and titanium to trim the general weight by 30 kg. Specific components on this package include 20-inch carbon-fibre wheels and light-weight tubular seat upholstered in black Alcantara that saves around 18 kg. You furthermore mght get two twin wings as a substitute of dual tails, larger front flicks, a further pair of vortex generators for the front underfloor, stiffer Multimatic shocks with lighter springs and more.
GALLERY: Ferrari 849 Testarossa, in Rosso Fiammante
GALLERY: Ferrari 849 Testarossa Spider, in Giallo Modena
GALLERY: Ferrari 849 Testarossa, Assetto Fiorano package, in Grigio Titanio
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This Article First Appeared At paultan.org

