MARANELLO: Ferrari's CEO confirmed a couple weeks ago that a hybrid supercar will debut this year, but Automotive News sources revealed that it will be powered by a V8 paired with an electric motor.
A couple of weeks ago during a quarterly earnings call, Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri confirmed that the company is turning over a new emissions-conscious leaf. Not only will the company be debuting a hybrid supercar this year with deliveries beginning in early 2020, but also Camilleri told analysts that 60 percent of the company's portfolio will have hybrid variants in just three years. What's more is that Ferrari will launch a BEV in the vague timeframe of "after 2022."
On Friday, however, Automotive News got some more information about Ferrari's hybridisation plans from a source familiar with the project. The supercar hybrid is now expected to come with a V8 supported by an electric motor. While this unnamed vehicle will not make an appearance at the Geneva Motor Show next month, it will show up at a "specific event" later this year.
Back in September at Ferrari's capital markets day, the company's chief technology officer Michael Leiters said that this upcoming supercar will "sit at the top of Ferrari's sport cars range and will offer more horsepower than the 488 Pista" so well over 700 hp. Despite the impressive specs that will come with the model, Camilleri confirms that this hybrid won't be a limited-edition supercar but have a "regular lifecycle."
The hybrid system that will power the supercar is actually the second-generation system -- the first-gen was used for Formula One racing and in the LaFerrari street car in 2013, though that system used a V12 instead of a V8.
While we can see that Ferrari will be jumping into the electric vehicle revolution, it's clear that they're not abandoning their internal-combustion engine legacy; the Monza SP1 and SP2 sports cars that debuted last year which feature "the most powerful engine Maranello [geographic home of Ferrari] has ever built," will be delivered to owners later this year.
For now, further specs are unknown. We'll have to wait for that "specific event" later this year.
