Ferrari to add hybrids after Government obliges

For both racing and street-designed models, supercar legend maker Ferrari has been showcasting some hybrid concepts at the latest car shows (and not only) around the globe. Purists might be more than a bit put off by the idea of a supposedly eco-friendly vehicle wearing the famed Prancing Horse badge, and it seems that Ferrari head Amadeo Felisa commiserates with them.

At this year’s Beijing Auto Show, Amadeo Felisa declared:

Our customers are looking for the essence of Ferrari – the emotion, the performance, the technology and so on. The way in which we fix emissions is not their problem but ours. If we are not able to fix it, only then will it become a problem for them.

Concerning environmental gains from future hybrid models, Ferrari’s position may be seen as problematic by some:

[Hybrids will come in] 2015, if we are forced to by the [government] regulations. The issue of emissions for Ferrari is more a political one than real one. Lowering emissions of every Ferrari will not save the planet, but it will cost us a lot of money… In the next five to 10 years, hybrid technology will develop and maybe something else will come up. Maybe it’ll be hydrogen, but for our cars only hybrid is ready.

Thus Ferrari let’s us read between the lines and deduct that no all-electric or hydrogen cars will be made in the near future, and the only reason the sportscar manufacturer is even looking at hybrids is because the various governments of the world are making them. You should also know that only two-door light models will be made into hybrids. The latest is a sensible choice, by all means.

[Source: Autocar]

[ PHOTO:  Ferrari 599 HY-KERS hybrid concept ]: