CODE RED

Elliott Hughes drives the Ferrari 849 Testarossa in Andalusia and finds out how this brand new 1036bhp hypercar delivers on its historic name

- Elliott Hughes

Reviving the Testarossa name places the new 849 alongside the 12Cilindri at the top of Ferrari's series-production range.

It replaces the SF90 – an ambitious supercar defined by a V8 hybrid powertrain that was both immensely powerful and complex. An evolved version of that system carries over into the 849. Set against even only the most recent historical connotations of the Testarossa badge, applying that name to a V8 hybrid without a single side-strake is provocative to say the least.

Within, there's an immediate sense of incongruity between the Prancing Horse on the steering wheel and the sound the 849 makes when I jab the Engine Start button for the first time with the e-Manettino in its Hybrid setting. Instead of an angry eight-cylinder bark, I'm greeted by a computerised jingle announcing that the car is 'on'. That aside, the cabin feels reassuringly driver-focused. You sit low, and Ferrari's Comfort seats strike a balance between cushioning and support. Much of the interior's cocooned atmosphere comes from the raked windscreen and the carbonfibre pillar dividing driver and passenger. This 'central sail', as Ferrari calls it, was inspired by the F80 hypercar. Another F80 carryover is the return of proper, tactile buttons, replacing the frustrating haptic controls of the SF90.