This Eerily Silent Ferrari 488 Test Mule Can Run On Electricity Alone

Spotted at Ferrari's Fiorano test track, this 488 test chassis clearly pulls away with no noise at all, indicating a new-to-Ferrari layout of hybrid drivetrain

Matt Kimberley

03 Apr 2018

What you’re looking at is a Ferrari 488 GTB test mule, but what you’re listening to is nothing more than the quiet countryside ambiance adjacent to Ferrari’s Fiorano test track. Yup, that right there is a hybrid-powered 488.

There have been rumblings of hybrid drivetrains around Ferrari for a while, now, but this is the first concrete proof we have that hybrid cars are in the pipeline that – unlike the LaFerrari – can run on electric power alone.

Hybrid Ferraris are rumoured to be on the way for 2019. The company has to meet stricter emissions regulations when its annual sales pass 10,000 cars - a target it is close to hitting.

Source: Motor Authority

Comments

This sounds pretty promising, should be lightning fast

Lightning from Cars 3? 👀👀👀

Was the pun unintended?

Well R.I.P to the “we are not interested in electric cars” quote 😥

Yeah, cough cough Sergio Machionne, are you lying to us? Just to cover up this 488 hybrid thing?

I hope it’s not an electric car…
If they are using hybrid tech to save the V12, I’m all for it, though

But the 488 is a V8

Oh i see what you mean nvm

what I will miss when electric cars take over the world of cars

electric cars do make sound and whatnot, its just that they sound the same…

It seems to have a decent amount of power in electric-only mode. Perhaps this means a return to N/A V8s plus hybrid? If it was twin-turbo hybrid, I think they’d be at serious risk of stealing the thunder of Ferrari’s more expensive cars.

Hybrid twin turbo makes more sense in terms of the flaws between systems. The hybrid power would fill in turbo lag, and could even use the turbo to generate more charge.