Ferrari introduces hybrid supercar
With 950 horsepower, the Laferrari can go at least 217 mph and will cost about $1 million.
After months of speculation, teaser photos and heavily camouflaged prototypes caught in tests on the roads of Italy, Ferrari revealed its next-generation supercar at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show.
All this for a hybrid called LaFerrari.
The odd name translates to simply “the Ferrari.” And it’s not a Ferrari LaFerrari — just, LaFerrari. And, no, it has nothing in common with Renault’s Le Car, the cheap French subcompact from the late 1970s. LaFerrari will sell for about $1 million.
If the name of this supercar doesn’t exactly live up to its predecessor — the Enzo, named for the founder of the company — the performance specs will.
The LaFerrari’s two power plants produce a combined 950 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque. The bulk of that — 789 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque — comes from a 6.3-liter V-12 gasoline engine with a 9,250 rpm redline. An electric motor kicks in an additional 161 horsepower. Power is pushed to the rear wheels via a seven-speed, dualclutch transmission. A second, smaller electric motor powers the car’s ancillary systems.
LaFerrari’s batteries, mounted to the chassis, weigh just 132 pounds. The car recharges them with re- generative braking when slowing down and the engine’s excess torque when it’s not needed — during cornering, for instance.
The chassis is made from several composite materials, including carbon fiber and Kevlar. The driver and passenger seats are built right into the composite tub. In adjusting your driving position, you don’t move closer to the steering wheel and pedals, they move closer to you.
Ferrari didn’t reveal the curb weight of the car, but it’s expected to be about 2,800 pounds, about the same as an average compact car — except with 950 horsepower.
Ferrari says the car will go from zero to 62 mph in less than three seconds, zero to 124 mph in less than seven seconds, and zero to 186 mph in 15 seconds.
It will be capable of at least 217 mph.
In addition to this straight-line speed, Ferrari says LaFerrari made it around its Fiorano testing track in 1 minute, 20 seconds. That’s five seconds faster than the Enzo supercar the LaFerrari replaces, and three seconds faster than the company’s F12Berlinetta.
Ferrari said it will make just 499 LaFerraris. The automaker didn’t disclose pricing at the Geneva unveiling, but don’t expect it to be any cheaper than its close competitor, the McLaren P1. That 903-horsepower supercar — also a hybrid — debuted at Geneva with a price tag of $1.15 million.