Half a decade. That’s how much time Ferrari needed to manufacture 710 examples of the LaFerrari. Indirectly replaced by the SF90 Stradale for the time being, the LaFerrari will be succeeded in 2022 according to chief marketing officer Enrico Galliera.
From the looks of this prototype, you can definitely tell what’s going on. The Prancing Horse took influence from the LaFerrari and FXX-K, the engineers have been tasked with squeezing more performance from the free-breathing V12 engine and PHEV system, and Centro Stile will come up with slightly different styling.
Carparazzo Varryx caught the prototype in the photo gallery on camera at the beginning of November, and for a brief moment, you can hear the unmistakable sound of 12 cylinders. This test mule has a different front bumper devoid of the central element separating the grille, different mirrors affixed horizontally to the A-pillars, no openings in the front hood, and smaller side air intakes.
Small changes are also visible at the rear, and if you know the LaFerrari well, it’s also curious how the wheels feature five lug nuts instead of a center-locking system. The dashboard is pretty camouflaged, unfortunately, leaving only the paddle shifters for the DCT and the leather-wrapped steering wheel in plain sight.
“High Voltage” stickers and the quietness of the prototype for short periods confirm the plug-in hybrid assistance, and the width of the vehicle serves as confirmation for the 12-cylinder engine rather than the twin-turbo V8 in the SF90 Stradale.
Speaking of which, let’s guesstimate the output. In the LaFerrari, the big boy V12 develops 800 PS (789 horsepower) at 9,000 rpm, 20 more ponies than the eight-cylinder engine in the SF90 Stradale. The three electric motors of the SF90 Stradale provide 220 PS (217 horsepower) for a total system output of 1,000 PS (986 horsepower). Don’t know about you, but Ferrari’s advancements in PHEV technology should help the heir-apparent surpass that figure rather easily.
While on the subject of electrification, the Prancing Horse doesn’t intend to launch an all-electric model until 2025 at the earliest. Chief executive officer Louis Camilleri recently said that he doesn’t see the Italian automaker ever featuring an all-electric lineup, which is a bold claim considering the increasing popularity of EVs.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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