BOSSES have opened up about Ferrari’s future! In a private press gathering in central London, Luca di Montezemolo talked about Ferrari past, present and future – confirming in the process that an ‘open 599’ would be revealed at the Pebble Beach Concours in California in August. And our exclusive image shows how the al-fresco Ferrari could look.
A number of roof mechanisms are possible, but the technology developed for the 575 Superamerica in 2005 fits the bill perfectly. The limited-run car featured an electric roof section that flipped back over the rear windscreen, plus a 25bhp power hike to account for the extra weight. Montezemolo added: “The roadster will have a very romantic name” – although he ruled out the use of the Superamerica badge. The open-top 599 will be built as part of an extremely limited production run, at the request of a number of select customers.
Regarding the firm’s hybrid plans, di Montezemolo said: “The future for Ferrari is hybrid for the 12-cylinder and new [turbocharged] technology for the eight-cylinder. Within three-four years we will be ready with a V12 hybrid
based on the HY-KERS concept.”
This means the replacement for the Enzo, plus the next 599 and Scaglietti, will get smaller-capacity V12s mated to electric motors to boost efficiency. But future Ferrari V8s will focus instead on conventional turbo power to meet performance and CO2 emissions targets.
