Angels Avert Your Gaze, For Today Does the Ferrari SF90 XX Stradale Receive Deified Honor, Lifted Among the Pantheon in Holy Contract, Solemn Duty Applied Evenly With High Stature, As Its Virtue Finds Itself Befitting the Crown

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a red sports car on a road
The Ferrari SF90XX Stradale Takes the CrownLORENZO MARCINNO

Thanks to their bodacious curves, over-the-top aero, and supernumerary stats, Ferrari flagships like the big-winged F50 and the insectoid LaFerrari served up poster-worthy vibes that launched many a childhood dream. Those astronomic yardsticks are why, when the SF90 landed atop the Ferrari lineup in 2021, its mild child styling felt like a royal letdown. The hybridized V-8 pedaled hard to counterpoint with four-figure horsepower and everywhere-all-at-once torque, but was the understated new flagship ending Ferrari’s reign of irrational sexiness?

It took two years, but a wilder SF90 XX Stradale variant has finally emerged from Maranello. Much to the relief of automotive extremists, the latest/greatest is a reassuringly twisted take on the original. The double-X rated nomenclature tips a hat to the brand’s most elite, previously track-only strains, the likes of which include such unhinged examples as the 599 XX Evo and FXX-K Evo. Added to the mix is the spirit of roadgoing special models like the 458 Speciale and 812 Competizione. It's a curious strain within the Ferrari microbiome: a limited production, track-worthy model that’s fully street legal yet not supported in any Ferrari-sanctioned track series.

ferrari sf90 xx stradale launch photos
Ferrari

So what makes the SF90 XX Stradale special? For starters, at its media launch in Modena Ferrari brass made a Big Thing out of its fixed wing, the likes of which haven’t been seen since, appropriately enough, the swoopy, once-range-topping F50. Just look at it in person, and you’ll grasp at least half of what you need to know about the XX’s deep, dark heart: whereas the SF90 wears the smooth, tapered bodywork that would suit a wind-cheating sports car (made incrementally more aggressive with the Assetto Fiorano package), the XX is lengthened, sculpted, slatted and spoilered like a supercar should.

The added physicality includes a larger splitter, twin S-ducts mounted at the front radiator, and various louvers and vents to help boost front downforce by 20 percent. A sizable rear spoiler helps achieve double the downforce of the SF90 Stradale. The resulting 1,168 lbs at 155 mph figure makes it among the highest of any roadgoing Ferrari, essentially putting it on par with the LaFerrari. As with the standard SF90, a rear flap acts as a shut-off Gurney, which automatically configures into low or high positions, allowing air to detach from the body, stick to the wing, and create downforce.

ferrari sf90 xx stradale launch photos
Ferrari

Not surprisingly, there wasn’t a whole lot of extra power to eke out from the highly tuned, hybridized powertrain: The 4.0-liter twin turbo V-8’s ports have been polished and new pistons raise combustion ratio to 9.54:1, elevating ICE output to 786 horsepower. Ferrari’s first-ever ‘extra boost vehicle dynamics logic’ elevates the three-motor EV portion to 230 hp, bringing the system’s net sum to 1,016 hp. The 30 hp gains shave two-tenths of a second from both the 0-62 mph and 0-124 mph times, which slide to 2.3 and 6.5 seconds. The XX also inherits the 296’s ABS EVO controller, which uses a 6-axis sensor to more deftly apportion individual stopping power to each of the four wheels, helping maintain control and stability without the driver necessarily stabbing the left pedal.