A "real" Ferrari, even electric, is a Ferrari with the sound of a combustion engine!

Ferrari will soon go electric, but it is out of the question to deprive buyers of the sound of thermal engines, and is currently designing something to simulate it.

Electric vehicles from the prancing horse brand should benefit from simulation tools, for which patents have been filed.

An electric Ferrari, but above all a Ferrari

It has been several years since Ferrari announced that some of its vehicles will be fully electric. This approach is part of a vast project aimed at offering a carbon-neutral production chain by 2030, while offering models that are still just as powerful. However, the electric has a big flaw with car lovers: noise.

Formula 1 fans are already in mourning for V8 or V10 engines, and the electrification of the fleet worries fans of supercars. Ferrari is well aware that its customers are also there to hear the engine purr, and is currently developing technology capable of simulating the sound of a combustion engine, unique to each model.

According to a recent patent filed, Ferrari intends to integrate into its vehicles what to reproduce the sounds of the engine, by synchronizing the audio with the acceleration or the deceleration of the vehicle. It's hard to say whether such a system will “trick” the ear of the person behind the wheel or its passengers. This patent, according to ODDO BHF, would target very specific noises, and would allow the technology to redirect the sound to the rear, where the heat engine would be if it were present.

Satisfy customers and achieve goals

Like the rest of the automotive industry, Ferrari does not escape the need to anticipate the future and the announced end of gasoline engines. It is, however, a historic brand closely linked to motorsport, and customers find it difficult to imagine more or less silent supercars.

It is therefore a real subject at Ferrari EV which was discussed last summer during a call with investors. Benedetto Vigna, CEO of the brand, indicated that the sound was part of the elements that characterized a Ferrari, and that each engine of each model had to be identifiable.

The idea might seem futile, but Ferrari is not the first manufacturer to incorporate simulated sounds into its vehicles. Mercedes-Benz and BMW, for example, have incorporated similar technologies into their electric vehicles. Finally, manufacturers do not hesitate to highlight the fact that a vehicle that makes noise, even if it is digital, reinforces the driver's attention and the safety of nearby pedestrians or cyclists. Everything would be planned for 2025, so we will have to be patient.