A low-slung Ferrari draped in the Rosso Corsa (racing red) paint pumping thunderous noises through its exhaust pipes is the definition of wet automotive dreams for many car enthusiasts. But how Ferrari’s future cars will retain some of their famed aural thrills in the electric future remains a mystery.
However, Ferrari’s boss has given us some hints. In a recent interview with CNBC, Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna said his engineers were working on “sound signatures” that will “stir emotions” the same way as some of the brand’s iconic sportscars have over the years. Vigna added that Ferrari remains committed to performance, design, and driving experience for its future EVs, asserting that “electric cars are not silent.”
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The Italian prancing horse goes electric.
Ferrari and Porsche lobbied hard in the EU to have some exceptions to continue selling gas cars after the continent's 2035 ban on combustion engines kicks in. The EU agreed, but with the condition that they be powered by carbon-neutral e-fuels. In the meantime, Ferrari plans to launch an all-electric supercar in Q4 2025.
I’m immediately thinking about the “Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust” that Dodge revealed with the Charger EV. It’s probably too early to guess how Ferrari would replicate the natural sound of a V8 or V12 in an EV.
But as long as it doesn’t plaster a cringe label onto its future “not silent” supercar, its reception should mostly be exciting, provided it checks other boxes, like a lascivious design and performance that reorganizes your internals—you know, things typically expected out of a Ferrari.
It’s good news that the Italian carmaker is considering EV technology as something that opens doors for innovation, instead of a forceful regulatory shift. “If you know the technology, you know you can do a lot of things also with electric cars,” Vigna told the channel when asked about EV sound.
However, Ferrari’s messaging around EVs has been perplexing. On the one hand, it said that the electric revolution is firmly underway at Maranello. But last year, Vigna said in a BBC interview that telling customers what to buy would be “arrogant.”
He doubled down on Ferrari’s commitment to continue developing internal combustion engines through this decade and beyond (The EU has granted it an exception, provided they’re powered by carbon-neutral e-fuels).
The messaging aside, Ferrari is expecting that electric and hybrid cars will account for about 60% of its sales by 2026, and it plans to go carbon neutral by 2030. It already has plug-in hybrid cars in its current line-up, like the SF90 Stradale and the 296 GTB. There’s also a dedicated factory under construction in Maranello, where Ferrari will build electric motors, battery packs, and power inverters.
Several carmakers have already nailed the electric performance car—Rimac Nevera, Audi E-Tron GT, Porsche Taycan, the list is quite long. So there's no reason to believe that Ferrari can't pull it off as well.
