And while Lamborghini’s Aventador might have the fancy doors, carbon chassis and V12, in comparison it looks distinctly low on tech - and performance. But it’s also a car that adds a weird yet welcome new dimension to the supercar experience. The WhichCar Network: Everything car buyers need and car lovers want.

And the car’s excellent new brake-by-wire Brembo calipers get rid of speed even more ferociously. The bright future is electric, in all its forms. The more forceful weight needed for bigger stops seemed much more natural.

News, reviews and comparisons of electric cars and SUVs from Australia's most trusted experts. The integration is genuinely impressive, as is the brake feel, which is far more natural than on most hybrid or electric cars.

More like a water cannon at a splashpark. All the motors draw power from a small 72kg battery pack that’s installed crossways just behind the seats. While not quite plush, the SF90's cabin definitely feels like a step forward from the company's other mid-engined models and with softer materials than the normal supercar carbo-crypt (my test car having plenty of optional carbon upgrades, too). It's not just a party piece. It also has what is effectively electric traction control, controlling wheel slip by harvesting extra energy rather than knocking back the engine.

Braking performance is impressive, but not a match for the face-tearing deceleration of the McLaren Senna that represents my high watermark for retardation. Their lightning-fast interactions are so subtle that they’re seldom noticeable from the driver’s seat. What is strange at first is the silence in E-mode. The big difference compared to the senior Ferraris that preceded it is how well the SF90 puts the power down. Step-off in full electric mode is surprisingly soft, and the petrol engine won’t cut in to help no matter how hard you mash the throttle. If driving the SF90 Stradale on the road is a voyage into the unknown, driving it on track is sailing into home port.

Acceleration isn’t neck-snapping, but brisk enough to easily keep up with traffic. Top speed is limited to 135km/h. But for a car not designed to live on track - Stradale being Italian for 'road' - it's a pretty remarkable performance. This slim motor – only 72mm thick – also has multiple roles. Some will be surprised that the SF90 shares many traits with lesser plug-in hybrids, most obviously in its ability to travel under pure electric power. For electric-only driving, the SF90 Stradale uses only its front motors.

The SF90 also enjoys an impressively pliant ride for something so potent and it seems remarkably laid back at cruising speeds. When I started doing this job in 1988, Ferrari had not long before released a handy little device called the F40. Short-shifting well before the 8000rpm redline and employing little more than half throttle, the Stradale genuinely feels quicker than many bonafide supercars.

Ferrari SF90 Stradale 2020 review – driving the game-changing 987bhp hybrid flagship. The huge front luggage bays of Ferrari’s sports cars has long been a real strength for owners who like to use their cars for more than a few minutes at a time. We weren’t. If the battery pack is flat, the engine will fire up and the rear motor will switch to generator mode to provide reversing power. Power is sent to all four wheels, making this the first mid-engined Ferrari with all-wheel drive. Driving at normal speeds, the Ferrari’s engine stops and starts just like a Prius. After the traditional lunch at the Montana restaurant, sitting beneath faded sets of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichellos' team overalls, it was time for the equally traditional chance to experience the SF90 around the company's Fiorano test track. It’s made even more thrilling by the manic, rasping bark of the hard-working engine. The new eight-speed gearbox is also, somehow, even quicker and more decisive in its changes than the company's lightning fast seven-speeder. The SF90 Stradale’s electric-boosted acceleration is simply incredible. The SF90 also debuts brake-by-wire in a Ferrari, something the engineers say was necessary given the level of regeneration the motors are capable of delivering.

And this is a Ferrari that can whisper down city centre streets without emitting a wisp of pollution. And even leaving the tech aside, it’s a new one for Ferrari. But ask for a burst of acceleration when the car is running electrically, and the V8 can sometimes burst back to life with an uncouth jolt. With Italy emerging from its long coronavirus lockdown, Ferrari has at last been able to stage the media launch of the SF90 Stradale originally planned for April this year. This technology is known as torque vectoring. Thrashing it on road and track might help us answer that question….

Not pulling the car straight, exactly, but definitely pulling. Switching to Race imposed discipline, and increasing confidence gave the chance to get to speeds where the SF90's peak 390kg downforce could be felt working.

The SF90 Stradale is Ferrari’s new top model … and its first-ever plug-in hybrid. In the end, the gas/electric powertrain generates a net output of 986 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque. The other motor is installed between the engine and the car’s new eight-speed double-clutch transmission, where it can add an electric boost to engine power delivered to the rear wheels. Pull the right shift paddle, then pull out into traffic and you just get a familiar (but Leaf-familiar, not Ferrari-familiar) golf-kart electric whine. With the SF90 Stradale, power comes from a massive V-8 and three electric motors. So although the front motors both stop contributing at speeds above 130mph, the rear motor is able to absorb the whole 162kW current by itself. There’s also a second touchpad manettino to separately select the car’s four drivetrain modes.

Ferrari is proud of its new 'human machine interface' which uses touch sensitive panels for most functions and has a 16-inch display screen ahead of he driver's seat featuring both instrumentation and display information. But that feeling of torque being fed to the front wheels, specifically coming out of very tight low-speed bends, takes some getting used to if you’re used to rear-drive Ferrari sports cars.

You'll be unsurprised to hear that it's hugely fast. Avidly interested in core EV technologies like motors and batteries, and believes the switch to electromobility definitely should be encouraged. Instead, you notice the extra steering precision and how well the chassis manages the disappointing, but inevitable, 240kg the 1570kg (damn near 1700kg in real terms) SF90 carries over the F8. Getting to Maranello meant I had to fly to Rome - the only Italian airport with a direct flight from London at the time - followed by a four-hour transfer to Maranello. Every time the SF90 starts up it defaults to its Hybrid mode, which will prioritise electric traction under gentle use, and it is also possible to lock it into an eDrive mode which can be used at speeds of up to 84mph, with the 8kW/h battery pack providing up to 15 miles of range.