- Ferrari is developing an EV
- Ferrari has no plans to abandon V-8 and V-12 engines
- Synthetic fuels could be the loophole to keep gasoline-powered Ferraris in production
Ferrari plans to launch first electric car next year, but the automaker known for building some of the best-sounding ICE cars on the planet has no plans to abandon its V-8 and V-12 engines.
That will become more challenging as emissions regulations become stricter, including at Ferrari’s European Union headquarters, where lawmakers plan to ban on new car sales equipped with ICE engines by 2035.
However, a potential flaw would allow ICE vehicles designed to run on carbon neutral synthetic fuelor e-fuels as they are commonly called, could help Ferrari maintain V-8 and V-12 supercars for sale. Fuels are often created using carbon capture processes to offset the carbon they produce when burned.
That’s what Ferrari is aiming for, says CEO Benedetto Vigna Car Another solution, Vigna said, would be hydrogen-burning ICE vehicles, although he doesn’t see that becoming a reality before 2030.
Benedetto Vigna
“We believe there is still value The Road Ahead for ICE Vehicles and this will be supported by the development of carbon-neutral fuels,” he said.
In case synthetic fuelFerrari is working with industry partners to prepare for a potential fuel transition in Formula 1 in 2026. The sport plans to deploy 100% sustainable fuels in F1 by the 2026 season, with synthetic fuels being the main solution. Oil giant Saudi Arabia Aramco, a major sponsor of F1, is involved in developing synthetic fuels for motor sport and eventually road cars.
Porsche and several partners have already pilot plant in Chile synthetic fuel production. To create fuel, the electrical energy generated by wind turbines is used to form hydrogen through the electrolysis of water, essentially the reverse of what happens in a hydrogen fuel cell. The hydrogen is then combined with carbon captured from the air, in a synthesis process that can produce gasoline and other fuels.
However, not everyone is convinced about synthetic fuels. The main issue is the amount of energy required to create synthetic fuels. If the energy used does not come from renewable sources, synthetic fuels are no cleaner than fossil fuels. A research from 2021 It also found that synthetic fuel cars could emit more carbon than battery-powered cars, in part because producing synthetic fuels requires more electricity than charging a fleet of electric cars.
