Aerodynamically it all seems to have been worth it with Ferrari claiming that it matches the Stradale for aero performance with the roof in place, delivering “downforce and efficiency figures unmatched by any other car in the category.” The SF90 Spider’s underbody generates more downforce than any other Ferrari convertible, it says. Key elements are the two diffusers ahead of the front wheels and new vortex generator strakes, plus the active Gurney flap at the rear that varies downforce over the rear axle, delivering up to 390kg at 155mph.
Ferrari doesn’t say the Spider is as torsionally stiff as the Stradale, just that it offers “30 per cent higher torsional rigidity than previous platforms without any increase in weight”. Over previous platforms perhaps, but inevitably the Spider does weigh in at more than the coupe; its dry weight is 1,670kg whereas Ferrari quotes 1,570kg for the Stradale. You can shave 21kg off that weight by opting for the track-ready Assetto Fiorano spec.
A chunk of that weight is due to the SF90’s extraordinary 1,000PS (746kW) hybrid powertrain of twin electric motors up front, a turbo V8 and another electric motor for luck at the rear – all of this, along with the eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox and array of trick traction technologies, is unchanged over the Stradale.