Ferrari’s plan to turbocharge or hybridize?or possibly both?every new model going forward is proceeding apace, if a patent filing uncovered by Autocar is anything to go by. The patent covers Ferrari’s idea of a hybrid system for either a front- or mid-engine sports car and, along with an earlier filing for a novel battery integration idea, gives us our clearest view yet of what to expect from the next-generation hybrid Ferraris.

One of Ferrari’s patent drawings depicts a front-engine car with a rear-mounted transaxle (box 11) with a pair of integrated electric motors (boxes 8 and 9).
As the two patents show, Ferrari is looking to rig up a hybrid system that’s both highly variable?with different numbers of battery packs and electric motors?and easily adaptable to different models. The most recent filing, which was just published recently, is somewhat redundantly titled “Electric Power System of a Vehicle with Electric Propulsion,” and outlines a hybrid system consisting of two large batteries, six power converters, two electric motors mechanically connected to a transaxle, and a traditional 12-volt supplemental battery. Ferrari notes that the number of electric motors could vary from just one to four, although not all four would provide power to the drive wheels; one motor could power a turbocharger or various accessory systems such as power steering or cooling pumps, or another could be fitted to the front-mounted engine and augm...