A VICTORY LAP

44 A VICTORY LAP

WORDS GAUTAM SHARMA

Key insights gleaned from the Ferrari Capital Markets Day held recently in Maranello point towards a bright future for one of the world’s most prolific carmakers

Ferrari is synonymous with screaming V8 and V12 engines, but the prancing horse of Maranello is on the verge of a major shi towards electri cation, in line with ever-tightening CO2 emission standards around the world.

Ferrari will launch its rst fullelectric vehicle in 2025, but company

CEO Benedetto Vigna says the lack of a combustion engine won’t dilute its appeal.

“Electri cation is a must as we need to reduce emissions, but we can also use this to further enhance performance,” said Vigna at Ferrari’s

Capital Markets Day event held recently in Maranello. “ e challenge to build a low-emission Ferrari is a challenge we are all embracing.

Contrary to the general notion, electric engines are not silent; each has its own signature. e engine will speak the language of the car.

“We will develop our own core components, so the rst full-electric

Ferrari will still be a Ferrari, leveraging the extensive know-how of our

Formula One team,” Vigna adds.

Ferrari has been gaining real-world experience in electric propulsion over the past decade, as the 2013

LaFerrari was its rst road-going hybrid, equipped with an F1-derived

HY-KERS system.

Since then, hybrid propulsion has ltered down to the mainstream range via the SF90 Stradale and, more recently, the 296GTB, which ekes out a whopping 830hp and 740Nm from its 3-litre V6 hybrid powertrain.

However, the upcoming BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) will advance

Ferrari’s electri cation strategy to the next level and – in line with this objective – Vigna says Ferrari’s

Maranello factory will house a new

“E-Building” dedicated to the electric engine, inverter and battery module.

“Will we build everything inhouse? No, even our founder, Enzo

Ferrari, started the company in 1947 with partners. e battery is a unique component of an EV. We will not be building our own cells, but we will package them in such a way to maximise their potential.”

Ferrari says its rst EV will o er the highest power density of any batteryelectric vehicle, and it’s targeting a further ten per cent increase in power density every two years a er its launch.

“ e rst full-electric Ferrari will combine class-leading longitudinal acceleration with driving thrills,” says chief research and development o cer Ernesto Lasalandra. He also promises “much more emotion” than any existing EV o ering.

Lasalandra says sensors will play a key role in optimising battery life and performance, while other innovations will include enhanced cooling, better insulation, as well as superconductive materials.

Ferrari’s current line-up comprises 80 per cent pure-combustion cars and 20 per cent hybrids. But that mix will rapidly change, to the extent that by 2026 only 40 per cent will be pure-combustion, with hybrids accounting for 55 per cent of sales and Ferrari’s rst full-electric model making up the remaining ve per cent. e mix will continue to evolve, and by 2030 full-electric models will make up 40 per cent of sales, and the same proportion for hybrids. Purecombustion models will account for the remaining 20 per cent.

“Looking to the future, there will be more car sharing, and cars will be more

ABOVE: Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna TOP: Ferrari 296GTB

OPPOSITE PAGE:

LaFerrari Aperta

Electri cation is a must as we need to reduce emissions, but we can also use this to further enhance performance

Benedetto Vigna, CEO of Ferrari

autonomous, more connected and more electric,” says Vigna. “Let’s start with the car sharing. We are not a mobility company. We want to continue to provide a unique experience – this is key. When more and more cars are shared in the future, owning a Ferrari will be even more unique.

“As for autonomous driving, it’s clear for us that we will stop at L2 and L2+ levels. We will not go L4 or L5. We will have Ferraris with a lot of new technology – I’m talking about sensors and processors – but these will be used always to enhance the driving experience. We always want to put humans at the centre of the experience.”

A second lease of life for combustion engines via synthetic fuels

In parallel with the development of EVs, Ferrari is also working with partners on synthetic fuels so that its combustion-engine cars can be used a er 2035. Development in this eld will be accelerated as F1 cars will use 100 per cent sustainable synthetic fuel from 2026 onwards.

e 100 per cent sustainable “dropin fuel” – meaning it can be used in a standard internal combustion engine without any modi cation to the engine itself – will be laboratorycreated, using components that come from either a carbon capture scheme, municipal waste or non-food biomass, while achieving greenhouse gas emissions savings relative to fossilderived petrol of at least 65 per cent.

Some industry estimates suggest there will be 1.8 billion cars on the road by 2030, with only eight per cent of those being pure battery-electric vehicles. Internal combustion engines will certainly continue to be essential to air and sea travel, as well as to the haulage sectors.

The Purosangue SUV is imminent

Ferrari’s long-awaited Purosangue SUV will be revealed in September, but company CEO Vigna whetted appetites at the Capital Markets Day, insisting the upcoming debutant is a true sportscar.

“I had the opportunity to drive it in the hills near Maranello, and I can tell you it really is a sportscar,” Vigna enthused. “We went with a naturally aspirated V12 – our most evocative engine – to ensure it lives up to its name (Purosangue is Italian for thoroughbred).” Even though SUVs now account for the bulk of global automotive sales across all price segments,

Ferrari’s CEO says the Purosangue will be an “add-on” rather than a model conceived to multiply Ferrari’s volumes. is is in stark contrast to arch-rival Lamborghini, which derived almost 60 per cent of its 8,405 global sales in 2021 via the Urus.

The Purosangue won’t be the most relevant model from a sales perspective

Enrico Galliera, chief marketing and commercial o icer of Ferrari

“ e Purosangue won’t be the most relevant model from a sales perspective,” says Ferrari’s chief marketing and commercial o cer, Enrico Galliera, adding that the SUV will account for only about 20 per cent of Ferrari’s sales. e Purosangue’s modular chassis architecture will form the basis for all of Ferrari’s upcoming midfront engine cars. is platform can accommodate V6, V8 and V12 engines, with or without hybrid assistance and with a transaxle dualclutch gearbox; rear or four-wheel drive and variable-wheelbase lengths.

Although the initial format of the Purosangue will be a high-riding (by Ferrari standards) four-seater, Galliera let slip that Ferrari’s future portfolio will include models with “two, four- and more seats”. is suggests a stretched version of the Purosangue with three-row seating could potentially follow in due course. e Purosangue won’t t the mould of the traditional SUV, as company insiders insist it will be more dynamic than anything currently available even at the top end of the performance SUV segment.

Its V12 engine – likely to be derived from the 800hp, 6.5-litre unit in the 812 Superfast – is expected to be complemented by heightadjustable suspension and an active anti-roll system to keep body roll to a minimum, while still allowing leeway for a modicum of o -road ability.

Galliera says the Purosangue will slot seamlessly into a four-pillar model line-up that includes mainstream range models, special series o erings (such as the 812 Competizione) and bespoke Icona models (such as the mould-breaking Monza SP). At the top of the pile will be an apex supercar, with a successor to the LaFerrari currently in the pipeline. e forecast for 2022-26 is for range models to account for 85 per cent of sales, ten per cent for special series cars and a combined total of ve per cent for Icona and the upcoming supercar.

Peak performance models in the foreseeable future will employ hybrid technology, with the successor to the LaFerrari also featuring a petrolelectric powertrain

Ferrari sales and lifestyle

In addition to its product diversi cation plans, Ferrari aims to grow its net revenue from a projected €4.8 billion in 2022 to €6.7 billion in 2026 by also broadening the brand’s audience.

“We’ve expanded our customer base by 25 per cent and our new clients are an average of eight years younger than before. We’ve also grown the number of Ferrari collectors by 60 per cent,” says Galliera. “We’re creating di erent Ferraris for di erent Ferraristi. ere’s no reason why owners shouldn’t have more than one Ferrari in their garage. We’re still reaching only 0.3 per cent of our target audience. Around the world, there are 26 million HNWIs. We aim to further grow revenue by focusing on luxury goods (including two fashion collections), collectables and experiential activities (museums, the Cavallino restaurant and theme parks – such as Ferrari World on Yas Island).”

CLOCKWISE FROM

ABOVE: Ferrari SF90 Spider; Ferrari SF90 Stradale; Enrico Galliera; Ferrari Monza SP