The Electric Prancing Horse

05 August 2022

In November 2020, Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri said, ‘Ferrari Will Never Be A Fully Electric Brand, the line-up won’t even reach 50-percent EVs, and we’ll always have internal combustion.

Camilleri said, ‘My own sense is that, to say 100-per cent electric, that’s pushing things. I really don’t see Ferrari ever being at 100 per cent EV, and certainly not in my lifetime will reach even 50 per cent.’

It is hard to believe that the La Ferrari was introduced to the world at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, indicating that Ferrari intended to embrace an electrified future.

The current PHEV models confirm this; the 296 GTB and SF90 Stradale, with the not-too-distant launch of the Purosangue SUV conceived and built with a hybrid powertrain.

Look forward to 2025, when Ferrari launches a motor car without an internal combustion engine.

The Ferrari purists say the extra weight provided by the batteries will adversely affect the performance and all that Ferrari stands for.

As to the issue of weight, Benedetto Vigna, an Italian physicist and Ferrari’s chief executive officer, says, ‘the engineers will find a way to offset the added bulk. And assured enthusiasts the EV will remain a Ferrari through and through.’

‘In terms of drive and vehicle dynamics, we can manage this additional weight. It’s true, we have a few 100 kilos more than a regular ICE car for the same kind of horsepower, but what reassures me is that we have a deep understanding of the vehicle dynamics. So, it’s a challenge, but we see it as an opportunity to continue to make something unique.’

How very reassuring!

Ferrari management assured the Prancing Horse aficionados that ‘even though automakers generally use more or less the same electronic chips, Ferrari’s engineers can deliver something unique and distinctive.’

Ferrari says pure ICE models will account for only 40 per cent by 2026, dropping to 20 per cent by the end of the decade, by which time Hybrids and Fully Electric Vehicles will represent 40%, respectively.

As to Louis Camilleri, Ferrari confirmed that Mr Camilleri retired as the brand’s CEO and as a board member due to ‘personal reasons in December 2020.