Ferrari’s First EV Might Have Synthetic Gears
Ferrari‘s first EV is coming this fall, likely in October, and, being an EV, won’t have any use for a manual transmission, though that isn’t stopping the automaker from possibly giving it gear-shifting abilities anyway.
Such a system would mimic a manual transmission and has been considered or is under development by automakers from Porsche to Honda and Toyota, but Ferrari doing so would up the stakes for EVs, as happens when Ferrari does anything. Ferrari’s system, as described in patents reported by Motor1 on Thursday, would have two components: paddle shifters on the steering wheel to change the torque output to the electric motor to simulate gear shifting, and a separate system to alter the car’s sounds as well, which can be customizable based on driver preferences, from anything to loud and aggressive to placid and “relaxed.”
What that all sounds like is a car that replicates the current Ferrari driving experience. That experience is highly engineered for driver comfort and, more importantly, excitement, such that when driving the 986 hp plug-in hybrid SF90 Stradale, for example, drivers can cruise along comfortably as if in a Honda Civic or access all of that power with the stomp of one’s foot and the press of the paddle shifters.
It is vital for Ferrari to give its drivers the option for excitement, in other words, even if many of its cars are fated to sit in garages or traffic in Monaco. In the EV era, that is perhaps a taller task, given that EVs have a much simpler powertrain than internal combustion engine cars, and require less driver input, but Ferrari has taken its time making its first EV because it still wants to provide some driving excitement and produce a car worthy of the name.
“People buy a Ferrari because when they buy a Ferrari, they have a lot of fun,” Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna has said. “They don’t buy a Ferrari because A, B, C, D, or a single element. It’s a combination of things. When we do electric cars, we will produce them in the right way.”
Hence: synthetic gear shifting in its first EV, possibly, and also the interior sounds that suggest gear-shifting, and exterior sounds that will make a “roar.” This is common for ICE cars, too, these days, though more important for an automaker such as Ferrari, which, above all, is trying to sell an experience, especially in its first EV.
This article originally appeared in Robb Report US.