Ferrari Hybrid Prototypes

" turbocharged six-cylinder engines "

 

Great news, but this....

... is BS. Plug-in just means that you can load the batteries over your normal power outlet in the garage, and has nothing to do with parallel or serial hybrid systems.

 

Must the positive progress of every aspect of today's society be predicated on fuel efficiency and environmental friendliness? Will Levi soon unveil a pair of jeans whose seat comes with a built-in filter to minimize the harmful effects of flatulence to the ozone layer? Is nothing sacred?

 

First, I don't believe gasoline is going away anytime soon. Fuel already has a robust infrastructure that is, for the most part, bought and paid for. So anyone attempting to knock gasoline off it's high horse had better bring some heavy guns (and a good business plan).

But more to my point, electronic motors (I assume Ferrari will do gas + electric hybrid drivetrain) provide a delivery of torque that no internal combustion engine can do. Electric motors can apply 400 ft/lbs of torque at 1 rpm providing instant performance. There is no waiting for the engine to build rpms, it's power that is available on demand. This became apparent to me when driving a RX400h and I squeaked the tires loose. Here's a SUV that is heavier than the RX330 and yet is over a second quicker 0-60. (I have driven the 2010 RX350 but not the RX450h, so I can't comment on them in competitive terms). I mean, the hybrid kicking the butt of it's gasoline brother? I think I'm talking blasphemy.

Additionally, why do hybrids have to be painted as only good for the environment? Why can't they be viewed as a performance enchancement? (Viagra for cars)

In summation, if the Ferrari hybrids are anything like the car in this link below, than sign me up.
http://blog.wired.com/cars/2009/03/frazer-nash-nam.html

 

My Ferrari is already a Hybrid: Run on gas, electricity, oil, air and water -- with a little adrenaline

yet on more serious note: these cars may always be produced, but will not represent the common mode of transportation in a few decades: more like buggies on the streets for the enthusiast.

way of the world will change for the majority and Ferraris and such will be the rare, delightful, exceptions.

 

Lol!~!~!

 

My Lexus GS450H is hardly a fuel sipping hybrid - it is much more a performance hybrid. It is a big, comfortable car that gets around 21mpg around-town in Oakland, CA - yet the acceleration feels phenomenol with instant torque at any rpm from the electric motors. It is rated very clean (low emissions), but it is set up to get maybe 1mpg better than its non-hybrid GS siblings - with much better performance.

In some ways the acceleration is more sudden than my F430, which still takes that split-second to get power down. That said, the regenerative braking, CVT, weight, hard run flat tires all take away from the Lexus. Lifting off the throttle plain feels weird as the motors flip to being generators. And batteries are heavy. One weakness of the Toyota hybrids is the large NiMH battery pack. To make them last a long time, they can only operate them between 70% and 95% of charge capacity, or something like that. Thus, they need a lot more of them than they would if they could fully discharge them. LiON should help with that - they can supposedly go through deeper charge/discharge cycles.

For series versus parallel configs, it would be weird to have a Ferrari in series (engine never drives wheels, only creates electricity for motors). Imagine stepping on the gas and hearing a little whirr as a high revving engine charges batteries and motors speed car along. I'd rather see the engine contribute to forward motion mechanically - ala parallel hybrid or a road-going KERS option.

 

And thats how I think Ferrari should approach their hybrids albeit with correcting performance issues such as the excessive weight. I have driven all three Lexus hybrids (LS600h L, GS450h, and RX400h) and noticed that they all do slightly better with fuel consumption but alot better with performance. While the LS600h L doesn't skip faster to 60mph than it's gasoline counterpart, it does scream when passing on the highway.

If Ferrari can attach itself to the performance aspect of hybrids, I think they will do well.

 

I think that what is being talked about here is the KERS. After all it is on this years F1 car. So how hard is it to put on a 599?

I didn't read that they are powering the car electrically. I don't think that is what is currently happening at Ferrari. I could be wrong.