Ferrari Hybrid confirmed

Hybrid cars of every shade are now flavour of the day. And, as we’ve said before, this has more to do with the targets imposed by Governments in the West than by any real need to see small, niche car makers contributing to CO2 reductions. After all, the average Ferrari probably does less than 2,000 miles a year. So even if it spews out 420g/km (which the F430 does), it still contributes less CO2 than the new Toyota Prius driving an average of 10,000 miles a year. So let’s have a little perspective, please.

We learnt at the weekend that Lamborghini are to reduce their CO2 footprint by 35%, and we recently  learnt about some of Ferrari’s Hybrid plans from patent applications the boys from Maranello had filed. But today we learn that not only is Ferrari looking at Hybrid options, but that it intends showing a car very soon – probably at the Los Angeles Motor Show in November.

Ferrari is looking at several options to keep the ‘Environmentalists’ happy, including Bio-Fuel and Turbo charging. Turbo charging is anathema to Ferrari purists who will always want a free-revving, naturally-aspirated engine with Ferrari’s trademark sound and feel, but Ferrari CEO Amadeo Felisa has said they believe they can still achieve what the purists want even with a turbo. We’ll see.

Ferrari are also looking at BioFuel, as evidenced by the Bio-Fuel Ferrari we saw at Detroit last year. And Ferrari say that the ECU in the new Ferrari California is actually buo fuel compatible. But we also know they are working on a 4×4 electric Hybrid system. Which again is anathema to Ferrari purists, but is actually more logical. The Ferrari 4×4 Hybrid system uses an electric motor on one axle to create a 4WD system without the weight or fuel penalties you usually get with 4×4 systems.

And we’re all for getting more for less (power and performance for less fuel, that is) and this is where high-performance makers like Ferrari and Lamborghini can best utilise Hybrid technology. And if a reduction in CO2 output is a by-product then great. But let’s not force these daft limits on cars that have little or no environmental impact.