Designed by the former designer of the iPhone 6, Ferrari may be about to create the coolest electric car in history.

While luxury brands such as Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Porsche, and Maserati have all slowed down their electrification processes, Ferrari has chosen to go against the trend.

Recently, this legendary Italian car manufacturer officially revealed some information about its first all - electric model, internally codenamed "Elettrica".

Rendering produced by TopGear

Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna said bluntly:

Yes, other companies are facing problems. But we want to prove to the world that Ferrari can bring unique driving pleasure with electric power, and Ferrari can use any technology to please our customers.

A "Different" Ferrari

Different from external expectations, the Elettrica is not a super - car but a four - seat GT that focuses more on practicality. Ferrari's goal is not to make fuel - car owners "switch" but to expand the customer base that can enjoy Ferrari.

This is not only a market strategy but also a technological choice -

GT models can make better use of electric power transmission and systems than super - cars. If a two - seat car is electrified, the improvement in performance and practicality using electric drive is very limited and is not enough to offset the increase in the overall vehicle weight.

Maria Fulgenz, the product development leader of "Elettrica", explained:

We believe that electric vehicles will be an ideal complement to the driving characteristics, interior space, and vision specifications we envision, and can attract customers who usually don't consider buying a Ferrari. For two - seat sports cars, electric technology is not competitive at all, even if it has amazing horsepower.

On the contrary, GT models like the "Elettrica" will have more significant improvements in dynamic performance, vision, and comfort compared to equivalent internal combustion engine models after using the electric drive platform.

Regardless of the vehicle's form, size, and positioning, driving engagement and strong dynamic performance are the key focuses in Ferrari's new car development. "It is an electric vehicle, but first and foremost - in concept and practice - it is a Ferrari."

Rendering produced by AutoCar

The "Elettrica" will be designed in collaboration between Ferrari and Lovefrom, the design company of former iPhone designer Jonathan Ive. Many famous Apple products, such as the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and the first - generation Apple Watch, were all designed by the design team led by Jonathan.

Ferrari did not announce the design details of the new car this time. However, from the heavily camouflaged prototype, we can see that the ground clearance of the new car will be higher than that of traditional four - door GT models. The vehicle's contour has also been aerodynamically optimized. The length of the new car will be around five meters, similar to the Purosangue model equipped with a V12 engine.

Ferrari "Elettrica" camouflaged car

To ensure that car owners can have the same sense of engagement when driving an electric - drive vehicle as when driving an internal combustion engine vehicle, Ferrari has developed an innovative sound system to provide sound effects for the power system during driving.

Different from the simulated sound waves played by speakers on the current market, Ferrari has developed a high - precision sensor to pick up the vibrations of mechanical components and amplify them, similar to the principle of a guitar pickup.

In addition, there is a dedicated Ferrari Order Noise Cancellation system (FONC), which can monitor and "selectively eliminate unwanted current harmonics generated by the motor", such as high - frequency whine sounds, to improve the comfort during driving.

Ferrari said that this sound system is a real auditory experience that reflects the dynamic driving experience, aiming to feedback and enhance certain physical feelings.

The sound of our electric Ferrari is not fake, not at all.

Stronger, Faster, and Purer

In terms of performance, the combined output power of the "Elettrica" exceeds that of any Ferrari road car to date and will become one of the most powerful models ever manufactured by the company.

It is equipped with a total of four motors. Two motors at the rear each produce 416 horsepower, totaling 832 horsepower, and the front motor can additionally contribute 282 horsepower. When the accelerator is fully open, the system can output more than 986 horsepower. This allows the new car to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds, with a top speed of about 309 km/h.

Ferrari claims that the front axle of the vehicle can transmit up to 3498 Nm of torque to the road surface. After the output of the motor itself is amplified by the gearbox, the rear of the vehicle can generate nearly 8000 Nm of torque. The maximum speed of the rear motor can reach 25,500 rpm, while the smaller front motor can reach 30,000 rpm and can reach the maximum speed from a standstill in less than one second.

The four - motor layout of the new car allows the vehicle to perform a complete torque distribution to the four wheels, thereby maximizing agility and stability. The front motor can be disconnected in scenarios such as high - speed cruising to improve operating efficiency.

The battery pack of the "Elettrica" has a capacity of up to 122 kWh, with a WLTC cruising range of more than 530 kilometers. It uses an 800V architecture, and the maximum charging power can reach 350 kW.

The battery cells of these batteries are provided by the South Korean company SK On, and the design and assembly are completed by Ferrari itself. It is said that the energy density reaches 195 Wh/kg, which is the "highest among all electric vehicles" on the current European market.

The connectors at the front and rear of the battery pack enable it to directly supply power to the front and rear axles, eliminating the need to lay thick cables inside the vehicle. Ferrari has concentrated 85% of the battery mass under the floor and stacked some additional battery cells in a double - layer form under the rear seats.

This not only lowers the center of gravity of the "Elettrica" by 80 mm compared to the Purosangue but also helps the new car shorten the wheelbase as much as possible without affecting the battery capacity, optimize the weight distribution, and achieve a front - to - rear ratio of 47:53.

To improve quietness, the "Elettrica" will become Ferrari's first road car to adopt a rear - axle sub - frame structure. The sub - frame is connected to the chassis electric drive axle, active suspension, and rear - wheel steering system through "elastomer" bushings to eliminate unnecessary noise and vibration from the rear of the vehicle.

The suspension system is an upgraded version of the 48 - volt active system already used in the Purosangue and F80. Combined with the chassis preview device, the "Elettrica" can measure all dynamic parameters of the chassis 200 times per second and respond accordingly. For example, it can strengthen the outer damper during sharp turns to keep the vehicle body stable and press each wheel into the road undulations to maintain contact with the ground and eliminate rebounds.

With this highly advanced partial active suspension, four - wheel steering (the maximum rear - wheel steering angle is 2.15 degrees), and full - torque vectoring distribution system, Ferrari says this is the first Ferrari that can "control vertical, longitudinal, and lateral forces under all dynamic conditions", a bit like the Yunlian - P on the Yangwang U8.

The wheels are like four spheres - they can move independently in any direction at any time.

To provide car owners with sufficient driving experience, Ferrari also offers a manual driving mode on the "Elettrica".

In this mode, every time the driver pulls the right paddle, they will feel a step - by - step increase in acceleration force. When braking into a corner, the driver can pull the left paddle to gradually reduce the power output and increase the intensity of energy - recovery braking, similar to the feeling of downshifting to use engine braking.

The "Elettrica" is not Ferrari's first foray into the electrification field. Since the F1 entered the hybrid era in 2009, Ferrari has always regarded the motor as an important tool to improve performance. It has successively launched the V12 hybrid model LaFerrari, the V8 hybrid model SF90, and the V6 hybrid model 296. The recently revived flagship sports car 849 Testarossa also uses a powertrain consisting of a 4.0 - liter twin - turbocharged V8 engine and three motors. However, moving from hybrid to all - electric is another challenge.

Ferrari 849 Testarossa

Five years ago, manufacturers were all enthusiastic about saying that they would build "amazing" all - electric high - performance vehicles, but later they all went back on their words, all for reasons such as "the current market is not ready" or "customers have concerns about electric sound, weight, driving experience, etc."

Even Ferrari itself has wavered. It once planned to postpone the release of its all - electric model until at least 2028. However, to attract new users and meet the expectations of some old users who "believe that the brand can continue the unique driving charm with electric power", Ferrari still decided to continue promoting the project.

But regardless of the final sales volume and market scale, we have no doubt that the final mass - produced version of the Ferrari "Elettrica" will definitely be exciting to drive.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Dong Che Hui". Author: Mustard. Republished by 36Kr with permission.