Replacing the SF90 Stradale was never going to be straightforward. Ferrari’s first hybrid V8 wasn’t an easy sell when it launched either, and it took years in the range before the fanbase came round to it. Its replacement, the 849 Testarossa, has managed something rarer: dividing opinion on the name before anyone had even seen the car move. Having now stood in front of two examples in person, I’ve got a clearer view of where the controversy is justified and where it isn’t.
The name
Testarossa is not a name Ferrari can use lightly. The 1984 original was the poster car of a generation, the hero of Miami Vice, and its successors, the 512 TR and F512 M, kept the bloodline strong. So when Ferrari revealed the new car in September 2025, the reaction was immediate and loud.
What’s less widely reported is that the name isn’t really a callback to 1984 at all. Ferrari’s “Testarossa” goes back further, to the “testa rossa”, red cam-cover engines fitted to its racing cars of the 1950s and 60s, among them the 500 TR and 250 Testa Rossa. The 1984 road car borrowed the name from that racing history just as much as the 849 does now. Once you know that, the conversation changes: this isn’t Ferrari trading on nostalgia for the 80s, it’s a return to something older still.
That doesn’t mean every name revival lands well. The new Lamborghini Countach paired Aventador internals with a shape that genuinely nodded to the original. The Alpine A110 and the electric Renault 5 did the same. Ford’s new Capri and the Mustang Mach-E show the other outcome, a famous name attached to a car that shares little else with it. The 849 Testarossa sits somewhere in between. If Ferrari had launched this as the 849 Stradale, I don’t think anyone would be arguing about the name at all. Because they didn’t, it’ll follow the car around for a while yet.
The design
The 849’s styling has had the same rough ride as its name. Critics were quick to write off the wedge-shaped nose when the car was revealed, and I understood why on first impression; it’s a significant step away from the SF90’s cleaner surfacing. Seeing it in person changes that. The proportions read better at full size, and the shape isn’t drawn from the 1984 Testarossa either. Ferrari points to its 1970s sports-racing prototypes, cars like the 512S and 512M, as the real inspiration, particularly in the twin tail winglets fitted with the Assetto Fiorano package.
The black stripe is its own conversation. It’s become a recurring feature across the current Ferrari range, originally a tribute to the Daytona, and it doesn’t suit every colour. On a traditional Rosso Corsa or a bright shade it can look bolted on. On black, grey or silver it works properly, sharpening the wedge rather than fighting it. Whether you like the 849’s design may come down to which car you’ve actually stood next to.
The numbers
Numbers were never going to be the problem with this car, and they aren’t. The 849 carries over the SF90’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 and hybrid system, but with turbochargers derived from the F80 hypercar. That lifts combined output to 1,050 CV, around 1,036bhp, an increase of 50 CV (roughly 49bhp) over the SF90’s 1,000 CV.
- 0-100km/h: 2.3 seconds
- Top speed: 330km/h (205mph)
- Dry weight: 1,570kg, unchanged from the SF90
- Power-to-weight: up by around 5% on the SF90. Not the leap the name change might suggest, but a real one
- Assetto Fiorano package: roughly 30kg lighter
Ferrari’s own Fiorano test track puts the SF90 Stradale at 1:19.0, quicker than the LaFerrari, 812 Competizione and 296 Speciale at the time. The 849 Testarossa laps it in 1:17.5, which leaves only the F80 and the SF90 XX Stradale quicker among Ferrari’s current road cars. More power, the same weight, and a genuinely quick car around Ferrari’s own circuit.
Our thoughts
The SF90 started as the outsider in a line-up that included the 812, F8, Roma and the Purosangue, and it earned its place over time despite the hybrid system that first put people off. I think the 849 Testarossa follows the same path. The name and the design are what’s working against it now, and both are the kind of thing that softens once a car is a familiar sight rather than a launch photo. The performance was never going to be the issue, and Ferrari’s own numbers back that up.
What’s certain is that the price has moved on from the SF90, and the car will do more to win people over once it’s out on the road in numbers rather than parked on a showroom floor.
If you’re weighing up a modern hybrid Ferrari and want an honest steer on where the 849 sits against the rest of the range, get in touch with the Redline Specialist Cars team.
*Images from https://www.ferrari.com/en-EN/auto/849-testarossa
