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All Future Ferrari V12s Will Be Hybridised

You didn’t expect the LaFerrari to be the only petrol-electric Prancing Horse, did you? All future V12s coming from Maranello will be hybridised. Interestingly enough, Ferrari let this info slip about one week after they announced Luca di Montezemolo, who has been steering the company for ages, is leaving and will be replaced by the man who leads Fiat-Chrysler, Sergio Marchionne.
LaFerrari mini me 1 photo
Photo: Artur H Photography
Ferrari powertrain director Vittorio Dini told Automotive News that electrification is their plan to keep the V12 ball rolling. The problem here lies in the emission targets - being a small volume manufacturer, Ferrari does benefit from an exemption, but they too are forced to shoot down those CO2 figures.

If you remember, when it comes to V8s, once the upcoming twin turbo Ferrari 458 revamp arrives, all of Maranello’s vee eights will be forced-fed. The engineers obviously also considered this solution for V12s.

However, despite many other V12s on the market using twin turbines, Ferrari felt the perfect solution (think lack of turbo lag here) would be quadruple turbos. Stuffing four turbos in the engine compartment brings serious space and heat issues, so the idea was dropped.

Instead, V12 Prancing Horses will see their naturally-aspirated V12s assisted by electric motors, sipping juice from lithium-ion battery packs.

What this means in the supercar segment

The aforementioned source stated the FF and F12 Berlinetta may be re-engineered in 2016 and 2017, in order to receive electrical assistance. This comes to contradict an earlier statement from Ferrari stating that they would not build another hybrid until the battery technology evolves, with the expected period of time for this being about five years from now.

In its quest for emission cutting, Ferrari will only join companies such as Porsche and McLaren, which means that, at least when it comes to renown supercar producers, only Lamborghini will remain naturally aspirated.

While we're waiting for electric chargers to solve the turbo lag issues in the future, we can only hope the increasing number of hybrid developments will help engineers understand how to bring that much-needed organic feel.

Then again, the Sant’Agata Bolognese people won’t be able to hold the purity gate closed forever, so those in the market for a NA supercar should enjoy themselves while they can.
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About the author: Andrei Tutu
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In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist.
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