The emergence of electrification has given us hybrid supercars that are more powerful but notably heavier than their non-electrified counterpart. The give and take between weight and power when it comes to electrified models is inevitable.
Take Ferrari, for example. We all know that the SF90 Stradale plug-in hybrid supercar makes so much power from its twin-turbo V8 and the ensemble of three electric motors. However, another mid-engine V8 supercar before it, the 488 Pista, is less powerful but is also substantially lighter.
Gallery: 2020 Ferrari SF90 Stradale first drive
The difference on acceleration is marginal – or is it? On a sprint to 62 miles per hour (100 kilometres per hour), the SF90 Stradale needs 2.5 seconds, while the 488 Pista takes 2.9 seconds. That's a mere four-tenths of a second gap, but that translates differently in a drag race.
YouTuber DragTimes, fortunately, had both filmed at a drag strip. Both Ferrari V8 supercars, one of them his own, battled it out in a straight-line race. As a bonus, both cars came in Rosso Scuderia paint, the brightest red in the automaker's colour options (and quite rare, if I may add).
Ferrari vs McLaren straight-line races:
For the uninitiated, the SF90 Stradale is up by nearly 300 bhp over the 488 Pista. However, the plug-in hybrid was heavier by 272 kilograms (600 pounds), which was about the weight of three people. That's a sizeable difference, mind you, but the SF90 has another ace up its sleeve – an all-wheel drivetrain, which should have given it an advantage from a standing start.
That said, did the SF90's additional power and grip advantage beat the lighter 488 Pista? The video atop this page should settle the score.
Source: DragTimes via YouTube