Ferrari reinvents its tri-motor V8 hybrid hypercar with a new design, increased power output (1,050hp), and enhancements to the V8 engine, incorporating learnings from recent hybrid models. The relaunch aims to create a more memorable hypercar experience, addressing criticisms of its predecessor.
A bold new look, even more power and a famous name for Ferrari 's tri-motor V8 hybrid - but what's it like? For those who haven’t noticed, there’s a new hybrid hypercar template in town. Begin with a combustion engine in the middle, one powerful enough to qualify a car as extremely special not very long ago, then pair it to three electric motors; these help with torque vectoring, reverse, and some electric range.
Supply those with a small battery, drive all four wheels, hook up a dual-clutch transmission and away you go with a thousand-horsepower face melter. Consider. Launched back in 2019 as the beginning of a brave new electrified era, it was packed full of tech - but never quite captured hearts and minds as might have been expected. With the poor residuals to show it. The design was curiously undramatic, the sound wasn’t exactly spectacular, and the by-wire brake setup came in for some criticism. So consider this a fairly drastic reinvention of the formula. One that boosts power while onboarding all that’s been learnt from subsequent hybrids - think 296 and F80 - to make a more memorable Ferrari hypercar experience. This is far, far more than just a contentious new look . Interestingly, the 849’s electric side continues over largely unchanged; the additional 50hp has come from overhauling the V8, and pretty extensively too - when you’re up around 200hp per litre, it’s not simply a case of fiddling with the ECU. So now the Testarossa boasts the largest turbos ever fitted to a roadgoing Ferrari , albeit ones that weigh no more than before and claim identical response thanks to adjustments to the compressor and turbine vanes. They now feature ceramic ball bearings and are mounted directly on the manifold. The cylinder head has been totally redesigned, the crankcase construction has changed to save weight, the entire block is new. It means 830hp at 7,500rpm, allied to the 220hp offered up by the two radial flux motors up front and the rear-mounted axial flux item. The 1,050hp total means 0-124mph in 6.35 seconds. Say that back to yourself, and let it sink in. Fast cars reach half that speed in 6.35 seconds. It means an 849 is 1.5 seconds faster around Fiorano than an identically specced SF90 , at 1:17.5. The car you’re looking at here is more than two seconds faster around Ferrari’s test track than a LaFerrari… But it isn’t just the power that contributes to that additional speed. The radical new look promises more downforce with less drag, the brake system is totally overhauled , there’s more rubber on the road - 10mm more a corner, now 265-section fronts and 325-section rears - and, of course, the whole suite of dynamic tech is enhanced. We’re now on the ninth generation of Side Slip Control, the second of the Ferrari Dynamic Enhancer, and ABS Evo now features in every manettino setting to improve brake feel. Even for a new Ferrari, this is a thorough rework. Maybe that’s just their typical exacting standards and tireless attitude. Or perhaps just the slightest admission that the SF90 wasn’t quite the ticket. Or why change so much? Likely no one will really want to talk about Inconel exhausts, MagenRide dampers or the Ferrari Integrated Vehicle Enhancer, though, because there’s to talk about. It couldn’t be accused of being a mere SF90 update, that’s for sure. Ferrari says the intention was to extend the rear deck to deliver more of a supercar stance, then meld modern and traditional styling cues throughout. So the rear leans heavily into Maranello’s sportscar racing heritage, the twin tail treatment like a 512 S evocative and exciting in a way the SF never could be. The exhausts exiting so high looks brilliant. Even the doors are dramatic, scalloped and carved to guide cooling air into large intakes that you can see in the rear view. Rest assured, nobody could accuse this Ferrari of lacking presence. And knowing it all has a function, pinning a Ferrari to the road as it goes faster and faster, is cool. That’s the thing to bear in mind when looking at the front, at least, because to these eyes it’s not the best looking bit of the 849. Attempting to evoke the Daytona with this black noseband is a nice idea - it just hasn’t worked yet. Ditto a light design that aims to mimic the look of pop-ups. ‘Bumperettes’ that channel air around the side of the car are awkwardly integrated. It’s at least recognisable as a Ferrari face; problem is none of them, 296 aside, are great ones right now. Driving begins on the Circuito Monteblanco track, with two stints of four laps each. Half of those are warm-up and cool down, so four swift ones in total. Not a lot for a definitive verdict, then, though more than enough for an overwhelming first impression: in its raciest spec - with the Assetto Fiorano pack, including Cup 2s and Multimatic dampers - the 849 Testarossa is a genuinely sublime track car. It’s an intimidating prospect, basically twice the power of an M3 in one Ferrari on a greasy track, but the reality is glorious: the TR is deft, agile, nimble and predictable like the very best mid-engined sports car, backed up with the very best assists in the business, and accelerates with unabating violence. Honestly, I can recall no other car that pulls so hard through every single gear; a Revuelto is dulled by a little more weight, a McLaren P1 doesn’t have the same traction or hillclimb racer-spec gear ratios. The acceleration is relentless, exhilarating, and completely addictive. And it isn’t even the best bit of the 849 TR circuit experience. It’s the ability of all those features to make the Ferrari authentically feel like a lighter, smaller, simpler sports car; a familiar Maranello trait these days, yet pulled off here with even greater aplomb. Because this is such a complicated vehicle - brake by wire, four-wheel drive, hybridisation - but it drives with all the transparency and intuitiveness of a back-to-basics sports car. With 1,000hp. You learn to trust it pretty quick, messages coming back through the seat, pedals and wheel about what’s left in reserve. It moves around on a slippery surface, yet nothing comes as a shock; the assists lend subtlest, gentlest, cleverest helping hand. Which all leads to getting a bit carried away and a snap sideways in fourth gear, which is quite good for cooling your boots. Seldom has a supercar balanced intimidation, challenge, reward and accessibility quite like the 849 Testarossa. It’s intoxicating. While the road cars are a less extreme spec, with the standard magnetorheological dampers and Pirelli P Zero R tyres, the experience is not much less vivid. Softer touches on the steering and brakes make them seem a little light to begin with, and the turn-in is less immediate, though it really takes precious little time to acclimatise. Once dialled in to its responses, the TR feels sensational, with a nicer brake pedal feel than a 12Cilindri and a delicacy to its ride and steering you simply wouldn’t credit a car of this kerbweight boasting. You’ll be wanting to use its 'bumpy road' setting, as is always the case, but any concerns that the 849 would only deliver on circuit can be swiftly allayed. There’s no front axle corruption, as some reported with the SF90, and incredible traction. Every single gearshift, faster and wilder than every other DCT and with ratios that make sense, is compelling, the clack of each paddle a reminder that these should always be as big as possible; the sound is very motorsport , with flat-plane blare, turbo whoosh and electric whirr to appreciate; even when running on electric, it’s fun to use the humps of the wings to place the car, conserve momentum with minimal inputs. There are electric miles here that a Revuelto can’t boast, and they’re worth exploring. The Ferrari replenishes range on the move almost as fast as you use it. Hybrid strategy is adjustable at the bottom of the wheel, from pure electric through mix-and-match modes to Qualifying for the max of everything, and it becomes second nature to adjust with the manettino as you wish. This will perhaps sound stupid, but going a little bit quickly on a good road in an 849 makes you feel like Bradley Cooper in Limitless. Honest. Everything you’re doing is quicker, better, more efficient and more informed than usual, or so it seems, because this car is so capable and you feel such an integral part of it. Far from hybridisation and assistance dulling the experience, it lifts the Testarossa to another level entirely. It even cruises acceptably, though obviously you still won’t travel with much stuff. As a representation of everything that Ferrari can currently achieve with a road car, an 849 Testarossa is pretty enthralling. But it isn’t perfect, of course. The sound from the turbo V8 is pretty cool, but isn’t a patch on the V12 opera offered up by a Revuelto; and when you’re spending half a million pounds on a mid-engined exotic, that’s the sort of thing that counts. While the interior is improved over some recent Ferrari efforts, too, with some proper buttons back and a virtual cockpit-style display that works well, elements of it remain a little bit fiddly. And even after a day in all sorts of conditions and specifications, the design never quite charmed like the very best Ferraris always do. Like a 296, perhaps. There’s a strong argument to say that a driving experience this absorbing is enough to overlook a strange front end, but you know how fickle people can be. As it is, the Testarossa is arguably the best of the series production hybrid hypercars that we've experienced. Aston Martin and the rest will be doing outrageously well to surpass it.
Ferrari Hybrid Testarossa Hypercar V8 Engine
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