Two years ago, Sergio Marchionne dubbed the notion of a Ferrari that can run without the aggressive growl of its 12-cylinder engines “obscene.” Today, it’s a reality.
Marchionne, Ferrari’s chief executive officer, says the supercar manufacturer has been quietly — very quietly — testing a gasoline electric hybrid car “you could run silently” at a track near its headquarters in the northern Italian town of Maranello.
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A quiet place
A video posted on YouTube last month shows a car at the Ferrari track making no sound as it accelerates from a full stop. While Ferrari has no plans to produce a full-electric car before 2022, the company is developing vehicles that will show “the full power of electrification,” Marchionne told Bloomberg Television.
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To be in the market next year
Next year, Ferrari will start offering the technology in a sports car, its first model that can run entirely on battery power for any significant distance. The hybrid engine will soon be an option on all new models, and from 2020 the carmaker will use it as the sole drivetrain for its first sport-utility vehicle, which Marchionne says will be the fastest SUV on the market.
Marchionne, 65, long a sceptic about electric cars, is embracing hybrid technology as the shift away from combustion engines picks up speed. In his final five-year business plan for the supercar maker before he retires, to be presented in September, Marchionne will set a goal of doubling profits to €2 billion by 2022 — and new models with unconventional engines will play a big role in reaching that target.
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Target customer
Analysts expect Ferrari to boost annual production to almost 15,000 cars, from 9,000 last year. The expansion will focus on attracting wealthy customers who might not buy a screaming sports car that can top 200 miles per hour but would pay more than $300,000 for a distinctive luxury ride they can take to the office or on a weekend trip to the countryside.
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Other makers to follow
Ferrari’s growing interest in electric motors mirrors the strategies of many of its highperformance rivals. Porsche next year plans to introduce its first all-electric sports car, a coupe called the Mission E. Aston Martin will start selling an electric version of the Rapide in 2019. And Bentley in March introduced a hybrid version of its Bentayga SUV and says that by 2025 all its vehicles will offer some sort of electric drivetrain.
