Electric Ferraris look set to get fake gearbox and engine sounds

ROME: Two recent patent applications suggest Ferrari is working on a virtual engine and gear-shift system for its upcoming electric vehicles.

The patent specifications were filed with the European Patent Office headquartered in Munich in September last year but only recently published and reported on by automotive industry media.

The patent with the number EP 4 527 667 A1 would see Ferrari using an electric motor to emulate the torque output of an internal combustion engine and the shifting processes of a gearbox.

When the fake gearbox technology "shifts" and when it does not, or which virtual gear it selects, depends on the respective engine torque and the accelerator pedal position.

However, it also allows simulated manual gear changes, which can be carried out via steering wheel paddles.

Another patent, EP 4 523 947 A1, describes the coupled sound system with interior and exterior loudspeakers.

This allows a digitally generated engine sound to be reproduced and according to the patent specification, this can be "historical, modern or futuristic, adrenaline-fuelled or relaxed" depending on preference.

The gear changes are also acoustically accompanied. The system is also said to have a function with which other engine sounds can be recorded and played back.

Ferrari is still fettling an electric car to bear the prancing horse badge, but brand boss Benedetto Vigna has said the finished car should go on sale in October 2026, if all goes well.

Filing patents does not guarantee that the new EV will have the features described, but the company has repeatedly said it wants its battery electrics to match the emotional experience of its traditional, internal-combustion cars.

Ferrari is not the first to go down this road either. Hyundai installed an 8,000-rpm turbocharged four-cylinder and eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox in the Ioniq 5 N. It pegs the torque output of its electric motor to give the driver a similar sensation to a combustion engine.

The car can also manage either automated simulated shifts, or driver-controlled manual shifts via the paddles behind the steering wheel.

In the US, Dodge also has an external and internal device to produce noise for its new Charger Daytona EV but it's a purely aural system, with no simulated torque outputs or gear-shifts.

BMW has said it is developing something like the Hyundai system, but Porsche has been clear that it will not jump on this technical bandwagon.