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If you are a mere mortal, haven’t bought dozens of Ferraris in the last few years and can’T get to the likes of the Ferrari F80, the new 849 TestirossA is as close as you will be to what it has been known for its Italian performance car brand offers.
Certainly, it’s no surprise that the two cars look very similar but what is surprising about how Ferrari has improved on what was already a breakthrough package?
Essentially, the 849 Testarossa is Ferrari’s new range-topping plug-in hybrid (PHEV) V8 model that replaces the SF90 Stradale as its flagship series-production car. The Prancing Horse brand’s three-motor hybrid design and eight-speed dual speed automatic transmission continue with it, but carries total system output to a claimed 1050cv (772kW) of power.
The cynical way to look at it is to say it is just a facelifted SF90, but that would be doing it an injustice. We wrote a whole separate article comparing the 849 Testarossa to the SF90, which is a technical read for those interested in learning about all the changes.
The headline acts, on paper, are a greater combustion power and higher overall performance claims supported by an expanded set of control systems and redesigned aerodynamic and cooling package. In the metal, it feels like a whole new car for an entirely new generation of people. It immediately ages the SF90 into a bygone age and ushers in ‘new Ferrari design language’ over next 10 years.
Despite the fact that questions remain over its value for sale and whether customers will overcome their unfounded fear of longevity issues associated with hybrid supercars (more on this later), but in merit, 849 promises to reset the benchmark for what a super car should be.
The new testarossa was tested by wet roads and the Monteblanco racetrack in Seville, Spain, before the new coupe arrives Down Under in the fourth quarter of this year followed by the Spider in first quarter 2027.
How much does the Ferrari 849 Testarossa cost?
The 849 TestarossA costs $932,648 compared to the on-road price of the 899 Testirosses A.S. Spider is sold for $1,015,589 plus ORCs with an 8 49 Testerossian Sighting in its cool $1 and015.588 range. They are also more expensive than the SF90 and a $8946,888-$957,700-before on-roads ‘s Spider.
| Model | Price before on-road costs |
| — | — |
| Ferrari 849 Testarossa | $932,648 |
| Ferrari 849 Testarossa Spider | $1,015,589 |
| Testarossa Assetto Fiorano package | $77,837 |
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What is the Ferrari 849 Testarossa like on the inside?
Ferrari has reworked the 849 Testarossa’s cabin interface as it is in recent models, including a return to physical controls on the steering wheel. This purpose, according to the brand, is “to make core functions easier to access when driving quickly” and reduce the need to use touch-sensitive controls.
Like this we think it’s like Apple removing ports from the MacBook range and calling that “a new feature”; adding ports back in for a fresh generation, calling an additional option also called. Just as we love technology, no one driving a Ferrari wants to press ‘digital start button’. Let’s say it is – let me learn that while the driver of feigning tech-loving car drivers don’t want them on their own bike and I think they are going down with an electric motor in our head? No one wants to worry about their fingers accidentally turning on a digital display. What’s the most emotional thing that comes with driving this monster?
In the F80, Ferrari has essentially retained the mechanical controls that were already in place (including the engine start/stop button) but still retains what it calls the eManettino to control the electric driving modes. This seems like a good compromise between the old and new world.
Techwise, we viewed the Apple CarPlay integration and the 849’s multimedia systems as super-fast from a technology point of view none of the glitchiness that has been found in previous models. There is a wireless phone charger placed between driver and passenger in the central tunnel; but we found this almost entirely useless to charge our 17 Pro Max (caseless) with, as it kept moving around and dropped out of charge. But even when it was charging, the wattage was well below 15W we would expect from a new car.
It’s hard to reinvent an interior every few years, so it’ll be nice for Ferrari to find a near-perfect combination of traditional and modern themes the 849 Testarossa’S cabin is blending – with its mid-engined Ferrari berlinetta layout (with fewer cockpit-like feel) ‘the classic Italian style. Ferrari has a wide, horizontal dash-but the top part is designed to look like it’s floating with ‘C’ air vents framed in aluminium.
Two’sail’ elements are part of the centre structure, and form two lower-down components that integrate much of switchgear into the core structure. Ferrari has also injected this area with an F80-inspired gear-gate theme, where the driver’s side is floating in a floating-style position. This definitely makes you notice the minute you sit inside of this . super-premium like a luxury watch, and we felt that touching it probably was more than we would have wanted to say.
It is a housing for the subwoofer and its aluminium grille, as well as the door pull; that same sail theme runs over to the doors where it serves as ‘homes of this type of boat theme’. Ferrari claims that it has’redesigned the lower door trim and the surrounding areas to free up more space, improve access and usability for use of its doors as well as adding room for the rear shelf area and passenger-side glovebox because of this effect’.
Is the SF90 more useful than the one? Not noticeably, but it’s good enough for short trips and some jackets. This is a weekend away away with the front cargo area of 74-litres, which should also be extended to include’soft bags or smaller items’.
| Dimensions | Ferrari 849 Testarossa |
| — | — |
| Length | 4718mm |
| Width | 2304mm |
| Height | 1225mm |
| Wheelbase | 2650mm |
| Cargo capacity | 74L |
What’s under the bonnet?
The 849 uses the same 3 . Its predecessor, 9litre twinturbo V8 power unit, still has three electric motors a twin-motor front axle that allows for on-demand all-wheel drive and torque vectoring; an additional motor which is part of the rear wheel.
The total number of 1050cv (772) is a combined list for Ferrari, according to the . Approximately 37kW (37kWh) over the SF90, there is 2kW) for the 849. The engine has a total source of power gain, which now generates 610kW at 7500rpm and 842Nm at 6500Rpm (limiter raised to 8300rPM) that is the only source for this increase.
In the 849, a power unit is tested and dates all of the way back to the Ferrari 488 (the engine was launched in 2016). The addition of the hybrid system has also been subject to years of learning and incremental improvements.
This is an extensive rework of the V8, Ferrari says, with components such as an all-new turbocharger system and a revised cylinder block and headheads, plus modifications to the exhaust manifold’s (in addition to intake plenums), valvetrain and fuel system components.
In a strange way, the brand’s largest turbocharger in the 849 Test Arossa uses the same low-friction bearings from the F80 hypercar and an engine heat shield inspired by the 296 GT3 to control heat in its car compartment.
Ferrari cites the Inconel manifold, which has been “redesigned with an increased diameter and length” on the exhaust side, also mentions that there is a flexible joint designed to control thermal expansion and vibration without adding significant mass.
The same 7 is used in 849 like the SF90, as does the . 7kWh (7 kWh) 9kWh (or less) The battery is 45kWh (a usable) and can be up to 25km of electric-only range with a maximum capacity of 25 km. This can be plugged into the home charger for those who are keen on driving in electric-only mode, but Ferrari says few owners of SF90 or 296 have ever charged their batteries via a wall charger.
Nobody who has ever driven an SF90 has gone out and thought, ‘you know what this needs? More performance!’. And that’s exactly what Ferrari has done, but it’s the way s do. It lists the claimed acceleration of 849 Testarossa at less than 2. 3 seconds to 100km/h and 6. 35 seconds to 200km/h; top speed over 330 km/H.
For a new Toyota Camry about 7 to put that perspective, it takes ‘to get the picture of what is going on’. It takes 5 seconds to reach 100km/h. In 2 0-100km/h, the LaFerrari does it perhaps more justly “The La Fernari is probably doing this.” In 6 seconds, 0-200km/h in 6 sec and 6sec. 9 seconds . But for most of us, it is a massive understatement to call the 849 Testarossa – and in many respects as’supercar.
Ferrari also names longer-lasting braking distances for the Testarossa, with 100-0km/h only 28. compared to the 29 metres of s in the SF90. A figure of 5m is .
| Specifications | Ferrari 849 Testarossa |
| — | — |
| Engine | 3.9L twin-turbo V8 PHEV |
| Engine outputs | 610kW (830cv) @ 7500rpm; 842Nm @ 6500rpm |
| Electric motor outputs | 162kW (220cv) total (three motors); 120kW (163cv) in eDrive mode |
| System outputs | 772kW (1050cv) |
| Battery | 7.9kWh (total) / 7.45kWh (usable, as quoted) |
| Transmission | 8-speed dual-clutch automatic |
| Drive type | On-demand all-wheel drive (front e-axle + rear drive) |
| Weight | 1570kg (dry, with optional content) |
| 0-100km/h (claimed) | <2.3 seconds |
| Fuel economy (claimed) | 9.3L/100km |
| Fuel economy (as tested) | A lot! |
| Electric driving range (PHEV) | 25km |
| Fuel tank capacity | 68L |
| Fuel requirement | 98-octane premium unleaded |
| CO2 emissions | 212g/km |
How does the Ferrari 849 Testarossa drive?
A bit of a time we have had to be angry at the driving Gods because our drive was in torrential rain, both on track and road components.
if you like living on the absolute edge, we can assure you that driving a car with 1000-plus horsepower on. What is so amazing with the 849 – even in the wet and when it has been used as an traction system – that somehow gets its power out, keeps going where pointed?
But for a car that can travel 100km/h almost as fast as if it is based on Formula 1 cars, the 849 is strangely available. One of the people you can pass it over to is a normal person and they will be able to drive it without fear of God. And if you turn all the switchgear over to sport or track, and less electronic intervention, your hands are one machine that will set lap times faster than most race cars of purpose-built.
At the very rare moments that a dry patch of road allowed full-throttle acceleration, we were silently screaming on the inside. I think it’s really sickeningly fast; there is no let-up or lag and no feeling of delay, you will be in jail long before the Testarossa runs out of performance.
The hybrid system has so much torque that you can easily make yourself car-sick. We said the same about the SF90, and we will say the opposite for the 849 No one needs a car this fast but boy is fun!
It’s big to look at, but this is a super-car. While it is a dry weight of 1570kg, the 849 corners with full confidence and its ability to accelerate out of tight corners even in the wet without ever feeling out-of control or limited are truly an engineering marvel.
Ferrari, on the technical side of its driving dynamics, says it developed the 849 Testarossa’s chassis with three goals in mind lift outright performance, make it more consistent when you’re hard and keep it approachable rather than spiky. While it was hard to assess the quality of the rain we suffered, we certainly did not think that this drivetrain and transmission in particular were far better integrated than before.
Many Ferrari fans and perhaps even owners don’t realise that as much as Ferrari is a car manufacturer, it has also become an expert in vehicle software. Ferrari, unlike most automakers that outsource their work to third-party solution providers, develops its own software in-house for the majority of its work. For the 849, it created a phrase called the ‘Ferrari Integrated Vehicle Estimator’ or FIVE.
In FIVE, Ferrari describes the model as an estimator that makes a simplified real-time ‘digital twin’ of the car and claims it can estimate vehicle speed with less than 1km/h and more than one degree error on yaw angle. This is happening in real time all of this, and the driver’s obliviousness is completely unrequited. This allows the 849’s many computers to accurately predict and respond to road or track conditions in real time.
The SF90-XX Stradale has recently been given the latest braking system from which larger discs and pads are now at both ends as for stopping power. The ABS Evo, combined with the FIVE system, gives the car’s computer system a much better idea of how to deploy its airbrake and other active aero elements.
FIVE’s estimates help set the target slip for each wheel and to optimise braking distribution, Ferrari says ABS Evo uses it. It also identifies that the system operates in all positions of Manettino and at all grip conditions. In the case of Ferrari, he claims that speed estimation is better for the car to exploit the tyres’ longitudinal grip both in straight-line braking and in combined brake and turn-in situations, which reduce variability due to component tolerances or changing environmental conditions.
The suspension changes in the 849’s performance, based on new tyres and this specific chassis configuration, are seen as three per cent more effective than that of its predecessor at an even higher micro level (along with 35 percent reduction) in weight of road springs.
Ferrari says roll gradient has been cut by 10 per cent to better control body motion and support aero performance and dynamic camber, and that damper tuning was’mixed up with virtual development and physical testing designed to replicate both road and track conditions’.
However, even though there are more hardware improvements to performance, the 849 matches SF90’s weight thanks to extensive weight reduction work across multiple components. And Ferrari’s claim is that this gives the highest power-to-weight ratio of any model of a Ferrari range.
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For the track, if you really want the ultimate performance version of 849, then an optional configuration is the Assetto Fiorano trim level (as in all cases) for the asset. This is going to cost you about $80k and will reduce your total weight by around 30kg (Ozempic is cheaper), a lot of composite materials including carbon-fibre and titanium.
Such as the light-weight seats (saving 18kg), 20 inches carbon fibre wheels, made in Geelong and Australia; among other minor changes. The rest of your money goes into the aero package that sees the front get bigger flicks and an additional pair of vortex generators to increase local suction and maintain airdynamic balance.
Ferrari says a twin-wing arrangement is used to triple vertical downforce as opposed to the twin tails, which does not significantly increase drag at rear of the standard twintail concept.
A revision of Chassis tuning is made with a stiffer, single-rate Multimatic dampers, 35 per cent lighter springs and 10 percent reduction in roll gradient. Also, Ferrari says a front lifter is on offer for the first time with Assetto Fiorano — which means keeping the semi-active MagneRide suspension. The tyres of this version are Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 and an exclusive livery is available in Bianco Cervino or Rossor Corda.
All of us, we took our fucking test in the car for better weather but from what we did experience it was an 849 that felt like a more sophisticated, more capable and faster SF90. A to a question we do not know anyone has asked, but are glad it is.
How much does the Ferrari 849 Testarossa cost to run?
Ferrari provides seven years of free service for all its cars, but only a three-year, unlimited-kilometre vehicle warranty. Furthermore, owners of 849 models will have their hybrid system covered for five years and if they tick the box for the extended hybrid warranty program until the eighth year of ownership, then it is replaced with their high-voltage battery pack (HVB) at no additional cost. But this seems like Ferrari’s way of preserving the values of their resale and customer anxiety about longevity.
This will repeat again for the battery after 16 years and beyond, and follows Ferrari’s ethos that Ferraris are forever.
| Servicing and Warranty | Ferrari 849 Testarossa |
| — | — |
| Warranty | 3 years, unlimited kilometres (extendable indefinitely) |
| Hybrid warranty | 5 years, unlimited kilometres (extendable indefinitely) |
| Service intervals | 12 months |
| Capped-price servicing | 7-year maintenance program (scheduled maintenance covered for the first seven years) |
childcareman.xyz’s Take on the Ferrari 849 Testarossa
The Ferrari 849 Testarossa based on the formula of an SF90’s PHEV, which is more powerful and has strong focus on systems integration (including hybrid energy management and braking control strategies) in paper. A F80 is a look, and when it comes to performance/drivability and fun factor you can’t really go wrong with one of these.
If you have to fork out about $1, you’ll probably need to. The coupe is a low-budget 2 million for the road with little options, $1. So there are real questions here about resale value, and given the price of SF90 in the used-car market (more so in Europe than in Australia), owners should consider this issue for the 849 as well.
Nevertheless, given the popularity of hybrid supercars and the education that is required for the market to know that Ferrari will continue to support and even replace all batteries indefinitely, current depreciation rates are probably a wobble at best.
As time goes by and these cars remain on the road – fully working, without problems for their happy second or third owners – the anxiety that surrounds long term ownership will dissipate.
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