Ferrari hybrid V6: new electrified supercar spotted
You’re looking at a new Ferrari hybrid supercar, under quite a lot of camouflage, it has to be said. Rumours of a electrified, prancing horse have been floating around for a while now – and recently confirmed in interviews – and we’re expecting to see the car revealed officially this summer.
The fastest hybrid cars revealed
In the meantime, we’ve only got spy shots to go on, and there’s not too much to see – other than the electric hazard sign on the camo; a sure sign of a dual-energy powertrain. And look at those rear exhausts!
Keep reading for everything else we know about the new Ferrari hybrid.
Wait, a hybrid powertain?
A hybrid powertrain was confirmed for 2019 by former group overlord Sergio Marchionne at a press conference at the 2018 Geneva motor show before his untimely death later that year. At the time, Marchionne pledged that a Ferrari hybrid ‘needs to become more traditional because it needs to fulfil a different role,' suggesting that meeting emissions regulations would become more important rather than just providing extra power. But rumours since have suggested otherwise...ay.
However, CAR understands the engine we'll see in May is more about filling gaps in turbo-lag than Prius-esque emission reduction. It's a win win, either way.
Ferrari’s hybrid V6: is this the Dino, then ?
An all-new Dino has been an on-again, off-again project at Ferrari, it seems. Late Ferrari boss Marchionne once called the Dino a 'natural' addition to the range, and former R&D chief Amedeo Felisa was reportedly a big fan of the project.
And yet, at the 2018 Capital Markets Day, Marchionne’s replacement, Louis Camillieri dashed any hopes of this ‘technically progressive’ V6 engine being slotted into a car badged ‘Dino’.
If not Dino, the car could use the badge 486, according to the Maranello gossip group.
We’re still certain Ferrari is working on something in the background, though. The new sports car will be based on Ferrari's new, flexible architecture destined for most of its range; the platform will be crafted largely from aluminium to trim weight; and, in the case of the smaller sports car, it will be powered by a new 2.9-litre V6 available in two power outputs with one potentially being this much-mooted hybrid option.
What about the possible performance?
The rumoured performance figures are prodigious. On its own, the 2.9-litre twin-turbocharged V6 is good for 610bhp and 443lb ft, sources say.
Meanwhile, when equipped with plug-in hybrid (PHEV) tech it is thought to be able to deliver as much as 723bhp and nearly 800lb ft of torque! The electric motor is thought to be packaged between the engine and gearbox, but it may be possible to add an additional electric front-wheel-drive module at a later stage.
Why Ferrari’s downsizing
Maranello faces the same CO2 pressures as the rest of the world: reducing cubic capacity and relying on turbochargers is the easiest solution to make its cars cleaner and less thirsty, while maintaining the shrieking power outputs for which cars bearing the prancing horse are famed.
CAR magazine understands the V6 under evaluation in Modena is around 2.9 litres in capacity, handily dodging just under the 3000cc threshold which triggers higher tax rates in markets such as China. Sounds quite similar to the V6 developed for Alfa Romeo in the excellent Giulia Quadrifoglio, doesn't it?
Ferrari V6s: a six-potted history
This new block is related to the Alfa V6 in the Giulia, but would be heavily revised for use in Ferraris. When it's revealed in May, it'll be the brand’s fourth six-pot effort, following in the wake of Lampredi’s straight six, Jano’s first-generation V6 and Rocchi’s 2.0- and 2.4-litre V6 units in the earlier Dino.
