Following the Trend: Ferrari Developing Electric Supercar to Compliment Its SUV
Despite referring to the mere notion of an electric Ferrari as “obscene” in 2016, chief executive officer Sergio Marchionne is now saying the brand is obligated to build one. The situation is familiar to what happened with the brand’s upcoming sport utility vehicle — Sergio claimed it would never happen and, roughly a year later, flipped the script.
The SUV is supposed to reach the public by late 2019 or early 2020. However the battery-electric Ferrari won’t come until the brand has established a few hybridized powertrains first. Marchionne claimed that “going from there to an electric is easy,” prefacing the plan with “We do it because we have to do it.”
“If there is an electric supercar to be built, then Ferrari will be the first,” he told Bloomberg at the Detroit auto show, after a press conference regarding the new SUV. “People are amazed at what Tesla did with a supercar: I’m not trying to minimize what Elon did but I think it’s doable by all of us.”
Battery-electric supercars do already exist, though. The Rimac Concept One, famous for being crashed by Richard Hammond in 2017, has been around for a few years. With an output of 800 kW and 1,200 lb-ft of torque, it certainly qualifies as a top-echelon performance vehicle. But its extremely low production numbers — only eight Rimac cars have been built since 2013 — does provide Ferrari with an opportunity to be the first company to build an hyperactive BEV at more meaningful volumes.
Of course, Tesla is bringing back a juiced-up version of its Roadster, Porsche said it wants an electric coupe after 2025, and Lamborghini has been recently hinting that it also might have batteries on the brain. Marchionne many need to tell Ferrari to get the lead out before he retires if the company seriously intends to be first at anything.
[Image: Ferrari NV]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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"Hey, SUV, lookin' good! You losing weight? BTW, nice job at the production meeting today. You really wowed the boss. I bet he promotes you." Yes, I can hear the new electrified supercar complimenting the SUV.
People who buy Ferrari’s tend to be many things. Die hard “Schuderia” enthusiasts aren’t one of them. Ferrari is a premium brand,and like it or not electric drive is now a status symbol among the monied elite. Those folks give zero damns about lap times, as long as they can pull up to the country club and get treated like royalty.