Ferrari Goes Hybrid

With speed being its forte, Ferrari is quickly catching the green wave as the European Union gets stricter and stricter with emissions policies.

And now, the automotive world has been abuzz since the beginning of the month when, at the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland, Ferrari unveiled their new concept car: the Ferrari 599 GTB Hybrid.

Ferrari’s cars are icons of style and speed, and that combination can offer little space for big ideas like “environmentally friendly,” but this hot rod still does all it needs to to go from 0 to 60 in 3.5. The system’s weight still needs a bit of work, but Ferrari has more than enough resources to integrate lighter materials like carbon fibre and aluminum. 

Colour-wise, fluorescent green always gets a mixed bag of response (I had originally written that the car was a “beauty” but realized everyone may not be agreeable to that), although you can be sure Ferrari will let you pick your colour when the car comes out three to five years down the road.

As far as the hybridization goes, Ferrari has placed two lithium-ion battery packs right under the car’s chassis, and they have a combined capacity of 3 kWh — doing their jobs while lowering the car’s centre of gravity and not affecting airflow underneath.

Even with the electric motor, cabin space and handling will be unaffected.

“We absolutely think ahead of everybody in technology research,” said Matteo Sardi, a Ferrari spokesman, to the New York Times. A little egotistical, but Italians are allowed. Cars and soccer, Italians, cars and soccer.

The car also integrates Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) technology, which premiered in the 2009 Formula One season. The system recovers a moving vehicle’s kinetic energy from waste heat created when the vehicle is braking. In Formula One, drivers have buttons that release the energy and it’s meant to help them overtake other cars.   

Continuing with an emphasis on braking, the car will also have Electronic Break Balance (EBB). It helps maximize stopping power, in turn reducing stopping distance when the car doesn’t need to recover kinetic energy.

All in all, for the urban driver, emissions will be reduced by 35%.

The only really noticeable concession is that the car’s trademark starting roar is missing, but perhaps you can replace it with the jubilant roar of environmentalists everywhere… Ehh, I tried. •

Photo by David Villarreal Fernández