Autocar UK – 07 August 2019

12 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 7 AUGUST 2019

F

errari is preparing to

launch the first of the 15

new models promised

in September 2018 and

due to arrive before 2023.

The man tasked with leading

the development of them all

is chief technology officer

Michael Leiters, who joined the

company in 2015. We sat down

with him on a recent trip to

Maranello.

Ferrari will soon launch its

SF90 Stradale supercar. Why

have you made it a hybrid?

“We’re convinced we’ve

made the next step with

hybrid technology. We had

the alternative of an internal-

combustion-engined car but

the one element that really

convinced us was all-wheel

drive [due to the SF90’s twin

electric motors at the front].

“You gain a lot with all-wheel

drive. Not just in the 0-100kph

time but in a very sporty way to

the car. To do this on a sports

car convinced us to do it.

“Why plug-in, and not just

hybrid? Even though you want

to have so much power for

certain moments, you don’t

always want the sound. If you

leave early in the morning, you

don’t have to make a racket.”

What’s the positioning of the

SF90 Stradale?

“We had 488 and 812 and saw

space to create a new segment

with no consolidation to the

812 or 488. So we needed to

add a load of performance over

the 812 and make new features

over the 488, which is not

hybrid or all-wheel drive.

“So we defined a new

segment, a top segment for

sports cars. We think we will

do it and the first feedback has

been positive.

“It’s been difficult for us

to catch customers in the

top segment over €300,

(£275,000) who are used to

buying mid/rear-engined cars.”

How do you feel about

a d d i n g m o r e we i g h t t o m a ke

hybrid cars?

“It hurts! It adds 250kg for

the entire hybrid content. It’s

clear you can’t compensate

for 250kg. You can do some

by adding carbonfibre parts

and structures. There’s also no

mechanical reverse gear. You

use the electric motor to turn

backwards. We have a lot of

these little things.

“To have low weight is good

for a few things: acceleration,

but with 1000hp that’s no

problem. Then agility: how

responsive is the car? That’s

weight and inertia. More

important is the wheelbase: it’s

very important not to extend

the wheelbase so you can have

low inertia. So the wheelbase

of SF90 is the same as the F8.

Next is a low centre of gravity:

the engine is very, very low.

“Then the front axle: the two

electric motors and cabling

weigh about 65-70kg, but the

torque vectoring they give to

200-210kph [125-130mph] is

the equivalent of about 200kg

of weight you’d need to save

out of the car to have the

same objective assessment

of driving emotions.”

The F8 Tributo is an update to

the existing 488. What are you

planning for a successor?

“From the architecture point

of view, our philosophy is the

same: weight, wheelbase and

ce ntr e of g rav i t y. Fr o m th e

pure technical point of view,

there are two axes. One is

performance. The other is

driving emotion.

“Performance is everything

you can read about in a

magazine: 0-100kph, power,

torque – all these numbers.

“Emotions are the actual

s e c r e t of Fe r ra r i. Ta ke B u g a t ti :

they put 1000hp in a car, and if

you go straight, it works very

well. To have fun on mountain

streets, we think this is our

secret. It’s not just about

being on the limit. Our cars are

always fun.

“ B u t w h a t ’s fu n? I t ’s s o u n d ,

perceived acceleration –

not just the 0-100kph or

0-200kph times. I accelerate

and I feel the torque and how

Ferrari tech

boss sets out vision

Hybrid SF90 Stradale

“defined a new

segment” for Ferrari

Chief technology officer talks EVs, V12s, expanding the line-up and a new hypercar

Ferrari CTO: Michael Leiters