Racing off in a new direction – can Ferrari go green?
Think of ultra-luxury cars … that thought doesn’t conjure up any environmentally friendly connotations, does it? But perhaps it will, from now on, as globally known sports car manufacturer Ferrari release details of their carbon neutral goals. Hoping to connect their renown historic brand with a keen sense of sustainability might be a tricky challenge for the stylish Italians to pull off, however.
In a statement released a few weeks ago, the prestige car maker spelled out their desire to make 80% of their output fully electric or hybrid by 2030 – a worthy aim in not too distant timescale. By then, they say that 40% of sales will be totally electric vehicles.
However, the big challenge in this particular case is to find eco-friendly batteries that can not only sustain the mileage but deliver the horsepower Ferrari are known for. Their plans are to plough money and resources into developing their own brand battery technology which can offer that performance, but what of the immense throaty howl of the engine which buyers crave from such a high end vehicle? It has been suggested in some quarters that the Ferrari growl will need to be artificially delivered … but will customers buy into a ‘fake’ experience? A figure of 4.4 billion Euros will be invested into this new direction in the next two years.
Just yesterday a new fuel plant cell (22/06/22, at undisclosed cost) capable of producing 1 Megawatt has been installed in the Ferrari facilities at Maranello, Italy. This will provide up to 10% of the power requirement for the plant and is the first major step the company have made in materialising their eco claims.
At least the Italians are certain of one thing – their flair for design. Perhaps to downplay the technological challenges thrown up by the hardware required to build a premium performance super-luxury car, they are keen to stress the positives of a move to electric: it will give their experts a chance to channel their imaginations down an innovative new path and design unique looking cars, the like of which we’ve never seen before.
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