A few years ago, the mere suggestion of Ferrari being remotely interested in pursuing hybrid technology would’ve been met with fits of laughter. Things have certainly changed over there in Maranello with the launch of the Ferrari LaFerrari, and now it appears that the Italian automaker is doubling down on hybrid technology. According to Autocar, Ferrari filed a patent application in June 2015 for a future production model that will prominently feature a hybrid technology that the company is currently developing. The objective of this tech is to build a series production car with supercar-like performance capabilities and the efficiency to travel as much as 30 miles in pure electric mode.
Details surrounding the development are being kept under wraps so far, but Autocar pointed out that the patents showed a model with a front-engined layout, a telling indicator that they could be used on the eventual successor of the Ferrari F12berlinetta. Just as important is the layout of the new hybrid tech, which shows batteries made up of a series of individual cylindrical cells that are mounted to a “support matrix” and integrated into the floor structure of the car, and an electric motor mounted to the transmission. This new system is different and more advanced than the system used on the 599 Hybrid concept from 2010. That model came with a pair of small lithium ion batteries that had a combined capacity of 3kWh, a relatively pedestrian figure by today’s standards.
In addition, the more advanced hybrid layout also makes it suitable for future Ferraris that will carry either front or mid-mounted engines. If the patent moves forward, expect Ferrari to have multiple uses for the hybrid system, including the possibility of integrating it, or slightly altered versions of it, into the Ferrari Dino — the automaker’s future entry-level model that’s scheduled to arrive in 2017 or 2018, and the aforementioned successor of the F12berlinetta.
Continue after the jump to read the full story.
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