Eighteen months before Ferrari’s first production series hybrid arrives on roads, footage of a test mule running the powertrain has been captured at the Italian firm's Fiorano Circuit.
Company boss Sergio Marchionne confirmed that test mules running a V8 hybrid powertrain were in use earlier this month, and the new video shows that at least one mule is based on a 488 GTB.
The car has no audible engine tone, suggesting that the powerplant is a plug-in hybrid one to enable fully electric running. Marchionne said that the electrified powerplant will need to be a “traditional hybrid to fulfill its role”, in comparison to the LaFerrari’s kinetic energy recovery set-up, which was used as “an add-on”, essentially giving performance benefits rather than efficiency gains.
It’s not yet clear which model the hybrid will appear in, although the timing would suggest it could well be Ferrari’s much-hyped forthcoming SUV, which is rumoured to be coming next year.
Ferrari 488 Pista shown at Geneva - with video
Marchionne said that Ferrari’s hybrid offering will ensure it can adhere to upcoming European Union CO2 emissions targets for 2021. He added: “We’re going to embrace electrification and make it a mainstay.”
He noted that the company was currently exempt from CO2 targets because it makes fewer than 10,000 cars but added: “Once we have more than that, it will be an issue. But I think with the hybrids we will be fine.”
The car is most likely to adopt a plug-in hybrid system to offer a limited amount of pure electric driving and lower CO2 emissions to achieve those targets. Such a model will directly rival Lamborghini's Urus plug-in hybrid which will arrive before the turn of the decade.
There were no further details on power or efficiency, but when asked if a hybrid powertrain meant loss of character versus a V12, Marchionne said: "Have you driven a Ferrari hybrid? When you do, I'm sure you won't miss a V12."
Marchionne also confirmed there will still be internal combustion-engined cars in future, which sit alongside a growing number of hybrid models.
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