Ferrari’s fully electric model won’t be launched for more than a year, but early tests indicate it has all the driving characteristics and emotions of a real Ferrari, according to Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna.
“The final judge will be the customer,” Vigna told CNBC at the opening of the company’s new E-Building in Maranello, Italy. “More people have started driving our electric Ferrari, and they have a good feeling. The driving qualities are there.”
Vigna said the defining characteristic of a Ferrari is the emotional experience. Having driven the all-electric Ferrari himself, he said: “I felt that kind of emotion.”
Ferrari’s plan to build an electric model is a bold and expensive gamble for a luxury automaker famous for its powerful, roaring combustion engines. Little is known about the electric model, which is not expected to launch until the fourth quarter of 2025. Yet the notion of an electric prancing horse has already sparked heated debate in the automotive community and among wealthy car collectors.
Much of the debate is about engine noise. Ferrari powertrains are beloved for their symphony of high-pitched roars, growls, snaps and groans. Electric motors are largely silent.
Vigna said Ferrari’s power acoustics will always be “authentic,” meaning the company won’t try to recreate the sound of a combustion engine using fake audio programs. He did, however, hint that it could amplify or better highlight the natural sound of an electric motor.
“The electric motor is not quiet,” he said. “There’s a way to let it play out in a unique way.”
Vigna added that the engine noise is only part of the emotional experience of driving the supercar.
“You interact with the eyes, with the ears, with your whole body,” he said. “When you talk about the Ferrari experience, the driving characteristics in a car, you talk about having a unique emotion when you are in the car. Because it is linear acceleration, lateral acceleration, experience of braking, changing gears So there are several dimensions, not just the sound.
Vigna declined to give projections on the price or overall sales of the all-electric Ferrari. He said the automaker would continue to offer customers the choice of internal combustion engines and hybrids in addition to the electric model. Ferrari, he said, will remain “technology neutral,” meaning it will let customers choose their powertrain.
A Ferrari being built at the supercar maker’s E-Building in Maranello, Italy.
Crystal Lau | CNBC
With the new E-Building, which spans more than 400,000 square feet and cost more than 200 million euros ($215 million) to build, Ferrari will for the first time be able to produce cars with one of three powertrains in the same factory, maximizing efficiency and flexibility.
“The choice is in the hands of the customer,” Vigna said.
The CEO said he expects some customers will never buy an electric Ferrari, others will make the switch and some drivers will only “be part of the Ferrari family” if they can buy one. Electric Ferrari.
With the new E-Building, the company would also be better equipped to meet market demand.
Ferrari produced fewer than 14,000 cars last year and demand remains so high that wait times for some models can reach three years. Vigna said the new E-Building would allow the supercar maker to increase production, but he declined to provide specific targets.
“Waiting is part of the experience” of owning a Ferrari, Vigna said.
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