As equipped for the race, the two SAI.7s were fitted with special glazed fairings extending from the canopy to the nose of the aircraft, to provide extra streamlining.

The aircraft began their proving flights too late, and were disqualified from the competition, but on August 27, one of them set a new world airspeed record for a 100 km closed loop, which it completed at 403.9 km/h (251 mph) powered by a Hirth HM 508D.

During the war, the Regia Aeronautica expressed interest in the aircraft as a trainer for fighter pilots, and a slightly revised version entered limited production in 1943 as the SAI.7T.

Only 10 were built, but in 1949, a modernised version powered by an Alfa Romeo engine was produced, 145 of them for the reformed Italian Air Force, including some single-seaters.

The final stage in the S.7's development was the Supersette (Super 7), two standard S.7s, one re-engined with a 380 hp de Havilland Gipsy Queen with a unique four-piece cowling that opened like a "flower petal",[3] and the other with an Alfa Romeo 121.