While Ferrari is cagey about what exact form its first electric car will take, executives made one thing clear: It will not replace supercars like the 296 or 12Cilindri.
“This car is not something that replaces another car or product. It is an addition,” Ferrari Chief Product Development Officer Gianmaria Fulgenzi told InsideEVs this week at a tech preview event for its upcoming EV, tentatively dubbed the Elettrica.
In comments to reporters during an event at the company’s new sustainable factory, Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna also emphasized that the company must master “all technologies.” But Vigna and Fulgenzi also noted that, if Ferrari is going to bring a new technology to a segment, it has to be setting a new benchmark in its class. And, according to Fulgenzi, EV technology is not quite ready to redefine the supercar market.
“We saw that with the best components and technical possibilities in 2026 or 2028 for the market, in terms of dimensions, to be the best car with an electric powertrain, we see that an electric vehicle for a two-seater sports car wasn’t a game-changer in terms of architecture and base physics,” he said.
He’s not alone in this opinion. Our colleagues at Motor1 recently wrote that “nobody wants an electric supercar,” based partly on comments from Mate Rimac. His company, Rimac, vaulted onto the scene with a 1,914-horsepower hypercar. But it struggled to attract customers.
Photo by: Ralph Hermens
Part of that is the new brand, but the other part is the “base physics” Fulgenzi referred to.
While electric cars have one main physics advantage—effortless, instant torque with basically unlimited power—they have an arguably bigger disadvantage. They are heavy. Lightweighting technology is crucial in the supercar space, because it allows you to make a car that handles better, feels more lively and responds more aggressively. It’s also much harder to make a heavy car as communicative as a light sports car, as the heavy weight of electric performance cars necessitates more power steering assistance and heavier-duty suspension components.
It’s not impossible to make a great-driving EV. But the most engaging EV I’ve driven—a Taycan Turbo—does not hold a candle to a gas Mazda Miata or hybrid Ferrari 296. The upcoming electric Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman may change that, but for now, there’s a reason why Porsche’s first EV was a sedan, and why other supercar manufacturers like Lamborghini and McLaren are not diving into the electric supercar market. Ferrari is reading from the same tea leaves.
The company’s choices are “driven by our customers,” Fulgenzi said. “Our customers so far love for a special kind of car, a two-seater, especially with an internal combustion engine. With a V-12, for example, in the front.”
That’s why the company is committed to pure internal combustion, hybrid and electric products for the “foreseeable future,” its CEO says. For now, it’s applying pure electric technology to the segment where it makes the most sense: larger grand touring cars.
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Source: Ferrari
The company’s choices are “driven by our customers,” Fulgenzi said. “Our customers so far love for a special kind of car, a two-seater, especially with an internal combustion engine. With a V-12, for example, in the front.”
That’s why the company is committed to pure internal combustion, hybrid and electric products for the “foreseeable future,” its CEO says. For now, it’s applying pure electric technology to the segment where it makes the most sense: larger grand touring cars.
“You can have a big car with the same agility of a car that’s smaller, so you can enjoy four seats instead with the same agility and enjoyment of a two-seater,” Fulgenzi told me.
But with today’s technology, the benefits of this kind of setup diminish as the car gets smaller. While the Elettrica’s main goal will be to disguise and work around its 5,000-plus-pound weight, the sports cars are focused on eliminating weight entirely.
“You have to do this with [dimensions] that are, let me say, big enough,” Fulgenzi said. “Otherwise the possibility to improve the performance or the driving thrills are strict. Very, very poor, let me say.”
Ferrari, however, is no stranger to electrification. Its F80 is a limited-production hybrid supercar, the latest of many since the LaFerrari launched in 2013.
Photo by: Ferrari
The executive stopped short of blaming any specific limiting factor of EV design. But based on the Elettrica’s 122-kilowatt-hour battery and 300-mile range, the company is clearly as concerned as mainstream manufacturers with delivering enough range. If that’s a requirement, then it’s clear where the problem lies.
“[Fulgenzi] was clear. This is not a supercar. Because the battery chemistry is not there to make a supercar,” Vigna, the CEO, told reporters.
When will it get there? Neither executive was clear. Fulgenzi admitted that it was possible without a solid-state battery. And a slide on a presentation seemed to imply that the company’s new V-8 two-door grand tourer, the Amalfi, could be succeeded by an electric car. But nobody wants to say when.
“We will see,” Fulgenzi said.
Contact the author: mack.hogan@insideevs.com
