Just occasionally, Maranello gets things wrong. Ditching the physical engine start button on its steering wheels was one such misstep. The touch control that replaced it lacked any tactility or theatre. We didn’t like it and nor did customers. And Ferrari has U-turned.

‘In the past, we introduced a touch sensor on our steering wheel,’ sweated Ernesto Lasalandra, chief research and development officer, under the lights at Ferrari’s investor day in October. ‘Based on the feedback of our clients, we understood that this technology did not provide them with added value, and we have decided to come back to a physical one. All new cars in production will have a physical one, and we will also make it available to clients of past models.’

There was further evidence that, more so now than ever, predicting what people want and when they’ll want it is harder than a heat-treated crankshaft. Back in 2022, Ferrari predicted EVs would account for nearly half its sales by 2030, with a projected split of 40 per cent EV, 40 per cent hybrid and 20 per cent combustion engines. But things change. CEO Benedetto Vigna announced a revised split: 20 per cent EV, 40 per cent hybrid and 40 per cent combustion engines. On the same day, Ferrari also went public with details of its first EV – and its stock posted its worst day’s trading ever.

The sharp drop was much more about guidance that fell short of expectations than a response to either the powertrain split adjustment or the Elettrica’s technical details (not its final name). But given the likes of Rimac and Lotus have both blazed unsuccessful all-electric performance trails (there’s a good reason the next Bugatti, the brainchild of Rimac founder Mate Rimac, isn’t all-electric) and an EV from the likes of Lamborghini is years away, you have to wonder why Ferrari’s persevering – and who it thinks will buy the first Ferrari without an engine.

The Elettrica is not a supercar; we knew this. Chief product development officer Gianmaria Fulgenzi is adamant current cell chemistry can’t deliver a big enough performance advantage to offset the weight increase. So the electric Ferrari will be a four-door GT rather than an engine-less 296 GTB. It uses four electric motors, two on each axle. Total output is more than 1000bhp. The rear axle is good for 831bhp, and the front axle 282bhp. Performance? Less than 2.5sec 0-62mph, a top speed of 193mph and a claimed range of more than 330 miles. At 122kWh (gross) and 2300kg, the Ferrari combines one of the biggest batteries yet seen in an EV with a competitive weight figure some 300kg lighter than the similarly powerful Porsche Cayenne Electric Turbo.

The battery unit has been developed by Ferrari and final assembly takes place at Maranello, but the cells themselves are by SK On, a South Korean firm with which Ferrari’s collaborated for years on its hybrids. 

Specific outputs for the drive units – 4.3bhp per kg at the front and 6.4bhp per kg at the rear – are juicy. Heat is dealt with not via direct oil cooling of the stator, as Porsche is doing, but with a high-thermal-conductivity resin, vacuum-impregnated into the stator to move heat efficiently out of the motors and into the liquid-cooling system. It’s claimed the resin also boosts mechanical strength; an important consideration given the centrifugal forces involved. To which end, the motors also feature 1.6mm-thick carbon sleeves that press-fit into the rotors and safeguard the individual magnets from the enormous forces they’re subjected to at peak revs.

Between them, the four motors represent a sandbox of dynamic opportunities for Ferrari’s engineers. And it’s this, together with the Elettrica’s fully active suspension and independent rear-wheel steering, that qualifies it as one of the most sophisticated cars ever built – one with more dominion over the laws of physics than anything we’ve seen before.

But what of the theatre of a true Ferrari? The spine-tingling noise and thrill of working up and down a gearbox, either with a ball-topped shift lever in an open gate or with paddles? Well, the Elettrica’s attempting to give you that, too, with shift paddles and a ‘gearbox’ – or at least a set of five pre-determined levels of torque between which you can shift via the paddles.

And there’ll be noise – when you want it. An accelerometer mounted on the rear motor casing, which vibrates at different frequencies depending on speed and load, will feed this to the cabin as noise. A cancellation system will weed out the unpleasant frequencies and bring the nice ones up in the mix. It’s not fake noise. But neither is it pure or analogue, like exhaust or inlet. Ferrari uses an electric-guitar analogy; the sound comes from an authentic source, but the noise is amplified electronically, not naturally by the body of the guitar.

Methodically, then, Ferrari has worked to address all the issues that make the phrase ‘electric Ferrari’ feel more than a touch oxymoronic. But who will buy the Elettrica?

CEO Vigna is adamant Ferrari won’t bully clients into buying the EV. ‘We won’t push the Elettrica to our current clients – we won’t say, “If you don’t take the Elettrica, then you will not be a special client any more.” It is their choice. For the electric car we must target the clients that are already passionate about this kind of powertrain.’

To that unknown number of positively-charged Ferraristi we can add completists, of which there are many. Since 2022, Ferrari’s managed to increase the average number of its cars in clients’ collections by 22 per cent, and 45 per cent of those collectors are new to the brand. You’d also imagine there will be Elettrica customers looking to become ‘special clients’ in the hope of being offered exclusive models, even if Ferrari isn’t going to actively push the EV on them. And while Ferrari management is loath to specify regions or demographics, the EV should do well in China, where imported cars with big engines and hefty prices are hit with a barrage of taxes – and where EV acceptance and understanding is among the highest in the world.

But there’s no doubt the electric future looks less certain than it did when Maranello’s EV was green lit, as Vigna cedes. ‘We understand it is important to increase the number of combustion-engined models and to limit a little bit the number of electric models. This is very fine. We are an agile company. In just a few years we have seen how the world is changing.’

Vigna also confirmed Ferrari’s commitment to its engine line-up, which includes a twin-turbo V6, a twin-turbo V8 and the big V12. The company – which sells just over 13,000 cars a year in over 60 countries – will continue to develop these technologies, increasing specific outputs up to 2030 and beyond, while also being ready for e-fuels, should their use become anything like widespread.

Against that backdrop the Elettrica – a futuristic tour de force in so many ways – looks a little like the product of a different time.

Illustration: Avarvarii (3)