Ferrari tests silent hybrid sports car, in first signs of shift to electric

Amid the multitude of global automotive brands going electric, Italian prestige sports and race car specialist, Ferrari, has remained – staunchly – in the combustion engine camp.

But is that changing? Bloomberg reports – and the You Tube video below confirms – that the “supercar” manufacturer has been testing a hybrid electric car near its headquarters in northern Italy.

And while Fiat Chrysler is on the record as saying it has no plans to produce a pure electric Ferrari before 2022, CEO Sergio Marchionne – himself an avowed petrol head – told Bloomberg the company would begin offering the hybrid technology in a Ferrari sports car next year.

From there, the hybrid engine will be an option on all new models, and from 2020 the car maker will use it exclusively for its first sport-utility vehicle, which Marchionne claims will be the fastest SUV on the market.

The baby steps from Ferrari come as other prestige and sports car brands are starting to roll out fully electric models, and to make plans to shift to EVs entirely.

Among them, iconic UK car-maker Jaguar last month unveiled its “Tesla killer” all-electric I-Pace SUV, complete with a video of the sleek new car “dragging off” a Tesla Model X. The I-Pace is due in Australia in October.

Volvo, as we reported here, has vowed to offer electric versions of all of its models by 2019, and for 50 per cent of all sales to be ‘fully electric’ by 2025.

VW Group, meanwhile, has promised to launch a new EV on an almost monthly basis, starting 2019.