SF90 Stradale Resale

Go for a ride in 1000hp competition setting top down - your ears will likely be ringing and your pants will need ringing.

 

There’s music and there’s noise. A meaningful difference.

 

Seems a bit harsh to criticise the SF90’s noise, in part, because it isn’t the V12. Nothing matches the V12 but then it’s heavy and doesn’t really work in the mid-engined format without packaging problems. Our SF90’s have both sounded good to me. As good as the other V8 turbo cars. The 296 sounds a little sweeter and the V12 imperious but as a partner in encouraging you to go fast it works really well. I’m glad the SF90 has a V8, maybe the last mid-engined model to do so.
Perhaps the mistake is for Ferrari to have called it the flagship and priced it above the V12s. But then they put a lot of effort into the SF90 and a lot of expense as their first hybrid. It’s hard to argue with them doing that - they’re Ferrari, they have to do it right. So maybe the mistake is to have made a hybrid in the first place. But then it’s clear and obvious why they did that. I find it difficult to criticise the progression of events even though not everything is perfect. Put it this way, V8 in the middle and V12 in the front is the best way around. And V8 hybrid with 1,000 hp at least seems like justification for a flagship range-model.

 

Prove - how you know the difference. I will entertain you -

You are chirping about a car that is what it is. No one cared. as they sold every one they made - many are still getting their SF90's.
Own Roma Spider sounds great - also 296GTS just as good maybe better.
SF90 - Comp mode sounds strong - why because it is and expect a SF90XX like race tune around the corner. That will end that issue.
My Speciale sounds very good and 16M added Capristo sounds deeper - not necessarily better. In fact debating of going back the sound does not fit the car.
My lil Dino sounds good - pops and crackles perfect to reflect what it is.

Now here is why I call bs on you and others - do you know what Straddle even means?
The SF90 was 100% meant to be a road car - I daily drove mine until Puro showed up. It's comfortable and it has AF pack - they should have upgraded AF pack but they did not - yet! My 812 is too loud for daily - it is too loud to pull in and out of places. I do love it though - but it's not a daily for that reason.

SF90 in electric mode is sneaky perfection.
When you actually use a Ferrari - there's a difference vs C&C lwith guys yelling rev it.
If someone wants to mod their SF90 - two things. Hp gains and sounds - who cares what the factory gave the car - it's meaningless and that's why there are after market companies.
Owned Carrera GT and modified exhaust - it's not the car that makes the sounds it is the owners preferences - not the guys with a iPhone yelling rev it.
My SV had a race tune factory exhaust - sounds insane but was also obnoxious - like a Lambo should be. Ferrari isn't obnoxious - there is a difference and there is nothing good sounding about Lambo's just loud - if that's what you want - they got it In spades.
Spent more time and money on exhausts than I care to think about - since age 16.
Settings on exotics make a big difference - who knows what you heard and when - SF90 in comp mode is very good - no idea how Roma and 296 sound so good - Roma extended exhaust helps but the 296GTS was a shocker. Sound is easy and cheap to achieve. What's not easy is to build a car five years prior faster than anyone else.

 

They should’ve removed the turbos.

I agree with much of what you said.

New territory- and Ferrari is leading- that’s great. And they’re learning and the imperfections naturally reduce desirability and resale value.

For me, the SF90 is the worst sounding regular production Ferrari I have ever heard. It’s also the least playful. IMO.

For an emotional road car the sound is a total non starter except for those that collect these as paperweights- which apparently isn’t a small number based on the mileage on the cars up for sale.

Harsh reality. I bet their next iteration is much better- such is progress. The market seems to agree with my assessment.

 

Disagree on much, esp “nothing good sounding about Lambos”. My Lambo owning friends and I seem to have different ears and taste, such is life.
I am fully with Brooks on this topic…the Rev sounds fantastic, and the SF is what it is.

 

Everyone has different ear for sound. I don’t deny how you hear it. And good for you!

I presume you are in the minority- except for the paperweight collectors and those jockeying for allocations on the special cars.

 

Then it wouldn't achieve the desired performance.

 

Then they should have put in a 12 cylinder or fixed the exhaust sound before going to market. They did it for the 296, I assume they can do it here.

The next iteration should be better- sound, offer rear wheel drive option, remove haptic nonsense, and remove the need to keep plugged in. That car would be successful.

 

As seen by the comments here, sound is subjective, just like everything that has to do with the senses and not numbers. Not to mention the new sound regulations. A RWD option via a menu sounds interesting, but could be very tricky to implement, as these extremely complex cars are developed holistically with all their control systems working in synergy. Removing a key element (front motors with their torque vectoring), could make the car very unpredictable and require compromises that would make the car worse. Good riddance to haptics though.

 

I can’t think you have had much time driving the SF90 in anger. No problem, the sound is certainly not the loudest Ferrari, but it serves well enough to let you know you are driving something very special and very fast. When you drive it quickly it is anything but ‘unplayful’. The best comparator in our garage is the Speciale in terms of how it handles. It is more secure feeling until you really start to go, at which point it is beyond exciting. On fast road and especially track, it is just a brilliant thing. I rarely drive our Speciale on long trips now because of it. It is less noisy, brilliantly (in fact unmatched) fast and it’s very rewarding to be able to get 1,000hp around a mountain at speed. I have lots of video of such trips and I quickly reviewed some to make sure I’m right. The sound is good without being overly loud, the handling and pace is mighty and the memories came flooding back. The sound matches the other-worldly performance, a sort of V8-under-intense-pressure sound, being asked to give you a level of performance not available elsewhere, gritting its teeth, a little frenzied but finding it can actually meet the request. ‘Paperweight’ is very very wide of the mark IMO.

 

Loud does not make sound good. Poor sound amplified it just loud noise. Agree to disagree.

Paperweight was just a reference to all the SF90’s that aren’t being driven. To those owners- the quality of the sound is irrelevant.

If you’re racing on a track- good or bad sound is irrelevant. For a road car it’s part of the experience.

Like it or not- The market speaks.

 

Silly people who aren't serious - like you are just uninformed.
V12 Puro to kick start it and rear V12's are for special limited million dollar Ferrari's. They have been putting V8 now V6 in this model for decades.
P1 918 LaFerrari - who had the V12 and which went up multiple times.
You don't get it - it's ok you and others just don't. You think the biggest collectors wanted a Roma Spider or 296, regardless they bought one.
It's not one car that Ferrari is looking to sell - it's a lifestyle for a garage full of Ferrari's.
Get over your sounds and what it means to you - you either appreciate the car from the owners review or you can listen to a bunch of Tik Tok. .
Do not think Ferrari can not make a great sound - worlds top engineering F1 team.
Lambo has their market - we all respect it. Go talk crap about Lambo on the Lambo forum - see how well it goes with the owners.
Ferrari owners are gentleman that want cars for all uses - they need to vary and SF90 ticks the box.
Ferrari made one mistake - letting first time buyer own an SF90. Short sellers flippers weak on the brand - it won't happen again and to make up for it we all got an XX.
1700 XX owners - will be extremely happy esp Spider owners.
That's the reality / market.

 

Ferrari usually makes great sounding engines. Obviously, not always.

I have driven the car. I heard the engine. Some people don’t care about the sound- I do. The car is wicked fast- for some that’s enough.

I haven’t even mentioned the occasional bricked car. There’s enough of those stories on these forums. How much does that play into the resale equation?

The SF90 spider’s are just beginning to hit the market. In time, they are likely to follow a similar resale trajectory.

Yes the XX car should be special. And I hope it is. That doesn’t change the situation for the regular versions.

 

Sorry gotta face palm that.

 

The thing about sound is that we want different noises for different occasions. There are different needs for different parts of the world. In the US, the whole cars and coffee thing is a much bigger deal. Sitting there, foot pressing the throttle and showing off your 78db-limited supercar won’t really cut it and for those who rightly (for them) get a large part of their ownership kicks at C&C it’s easy to understand why the current state of affairs is a problem. There is less of this in Europe - I have never actually been to a C&C style event. Instead, I prefer road trips and track days. Both of these are now more problematic for quantity of sound. I love the V12s and some of our older cars are noisier, but I tend to use them less these days, in part because of that reason. I won’t sell them and from time-to-time it’s good to have a proper noisy blast. But, for most of the time, it just attracts the wrong sort of attention - black flags on tracks, which gets very irritating given the cost and the time wasted if your car can’t run and police attention (including following helicopters - which has actually happened to us) when you make too much noise on a road trip. We’ve literally been stopped on a mountain pass, not for speed traps but because the police asked us to be quieter! We pay a lot of money to enjoy these cars, if they’re too loud it simply gets in the way nowadays. Very frustrating. I would rather go about our business without unnecessary interference. I already have plenty of ‘unnecessary interference’ in my real business, let alone what we do in our free time.

So, we’ll never really all agree on sound because we all want, or perhaps even require, different things. I’ve mentioned before that Porsche have found a great solution - the GT4 RS, where the induction sound is so loud I can’t believe anybody needs more (the fact that plenty of US GT4 RSs have had straight-through exhausts added tells me just how far apart in taste we all are. I couldn’t think of a bigger waste of money, the car is already bordering on too loud. But for that 5% moment - it’s probably brilliant! You just go deaf in the other 95% though). This is a good solution because the car is noisy and invigorating inside, quieter and less attention-grabbing outside. Good if you don’t want attention, bad if you do. I don’t. Others do. Neither is wrong. But it does mean that the ongoing commentary about sound on fchat is an irreconcilable issue and therefore a moot point.

The Ferrari V8s sound sporty, throaty, even the turbos. The V6s sound sweet and sporty, different and less gruff than the V8. The V12s are a wonder. The 12C for example is quieter, but still possessing of a sweet and beautiful V12 sound, just at lower volume. I’m perfectly happy with that, makes the car more usable - both now and in the future. I’ll still keep our Superfast, loud and proud and a fine car. But it will probably be the 12C Spider that goes with us on more road trips. Well, it would if the SF90 didn’t exist. The car I currently enjoy most, and in most situations.

 

You keep talking about loud. That’s volume. I’m referring to the quality of the sound. Two completely different things.

I had a 4RS. The car is quiet on the outside which is why people change the exhaust. They are not trying to make the car louder inside the car. Interestingly, I lost the intake sound when I attempted to improve the exterior sound- as one impacts the other. So I undid it.

BTW- I have never gone to a cars and coffee.

 

I go there to mingle with the Mustang owners.

It's a great self-esteem booster.

 

Removing the turbos, which was your suggestion, does not alter quality, it alters volume. It’s a Ferrari V8, it’s going to sound like the other Ferrari V8s. The turbos basically take away volume not quality. Interesting about your 4RS, not sure I understand why the exhaust altered the induction sound. Interested to hear if someone has an explanation.

 

No- Compared to a naturally aspirated engine, a turbocharged engine tends to have a less aggressive sound with a less pronounced high-revving character.

Turbos reduce the quality and volume of engine sound. Turbos eliminate the high pitch scream of a normally aspirated engine. The range of sound is reduced while also making the sound muffled. This is why some people say turbo charged engines sound are akin to vacuum cleaners.

 

Regarding sound quality- CHTGBT understands…

Why do people prefer the sound of a normally aspirated engine over a turbocharged one?

Many people prefer the sound of a naturally aspirated (NA) engine over a turbocharged one because NA engines often produce a purer, more mechanical, and emotionally engaging sound profile. Here are some reasons for this preference:


1. Uninterrupted Exhaust Note

• NA engines have a direct path for exhaust gases, unimpeded by a turbocharger. This results in a cleaner, sharper, and more consistent exhaust tone that many enthusiasts find more satisfying.

• The turbocharger in a forced-induction engine can muffle or distort this sound, making it less distinct.


2. Linear and Progressive Sound

• The sound of an NA engine builds linearly with RPMs, creating an exhilarating crescendo as the engine reaches its redline. This progression feels natural and is often associated with high-revving sports cars.

• Turbocharged engines, by contrast, may have less consistency due to turbo spooling, blow-off valves, and other forced-induction noises.


3. Mechanical Rawness

• NA engines often have a raw and mechanical character that enthusiasts appreciate. The intake roar, valve train noise, and high-RPM induction sounds are unfiltered and directly connected to the driver’s inputs.

• Turbocharged engines introduce whistles, hisses, and pops that can dilute this mechanical purity.


4. Emotional Connection

• Many iconic sports cars, such as Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and older Porsches, achieved legendary status with NA engines that produced spine-tingling soundtracks. This has created an emotional attachment to the NA engine sound.


5. High-Revving Character

• NA engines are often designed to rev higher than turbocharged engines, producing a thrilling, screaming sound at the upper limits of the RPM range. Turbo engines, by comparison, are typically tuned for lower-end torque, and their sound can feel less dramatic.


6. Lack of Artificial Noise

• Some turbocharged cars rely on artificial sound enhancement, either through the stereo system or exhaust tuning, which enthusiasts may find inauthentic. NA engines don’t need these tricks to sound good.


7. Nostalgia and Heritage

• Naturally aspirated engines have a long history in motorsport and performance cars, representing an era before emissions regulations and turbocharging became dominant. This nostalgia adds to their appeal.


8. Distinctive High-Frequency Tones

• NA engines often produce high-pitched, resonant tones (especially V10s and V12s) that are difficult to replicate with turbochargers. These sounds are considered more musical and pleasing to the ear.

In summary, the preference for NA engine sound stems from its purity, emotional resonance, and direct connection to the driver’s inputs, qualities that are often muted or altered in turbocharged engines. This makes NA engines a timeless favorite among purists and enthusiasts.

 

This is virtually all about the exhaust gases, diverted through a turbocharger, reducing sound quantity.

Certainly a turbo car, with mid range torque and less up top, revs differently, which changes the sound. But in essence our Speciale (I have driven 15k miles so know it very well) and our pista (7,000 miles) both sound like Ferrari V8s. One quieter and with a different revving profile. To say it is a vacuum cleaner is simply an intent to put that engine down. It sounds nothing like a vacuum cleaner. For a turbo - being a little quieter - it sounds great. Far better than McLaren’s turbo motor for example.

By the way, Speciale, despite being n/a, is not outstanding sonically. Nowhere near the V12 for example.

 

Not all turbo engines sound like a vacuum cleaner. IMO the SF90 does.

Not all normally aspirated engines sound the same or good.

Do a search for vacuum cleaner in FCHAT. You will see numerous Ferrari owners opinions on turbo engines.

Maybe you just can’t hear the difference.

Technically the SF90 is an engineering marvel. Emotionally to many- it’s not.

This is a thread about resale values. I only mentioned the engine sound as one of the reasons the car is doing poorly on resale. It is the reason I don’t want one at almost any price.

Why do you think there are over 100 for sale on CARS.com?

Why are cars selling for $200k plus off sticker barely used? This is atypical for a new Ferrari.

 

Don’t you own a 812? There are 155 of them for sale on Cars.com. Must be because people hate them, regardless of how they sound.

 

812 GTS: They are all over sticker price. They don’t sell under sticker undamaged. They also made a lot more. And prices will drop to clear the market.