Ferrari goes four-wheel drive

Red cars get powered front wheels for first time?

By PH Staff / Wednesday, 19 October 2005 / Loading comments

612 Scaglietti to get 4WD?

Ferrari is working on a four-wheel-drive system -- probably the first time it has ever sent motive power to the front wheels.

The part-time FWD system with a transaxle layout is likely to be used on front-engined cars such as the 612 Scaglietti and the upcoming V12-powered 600, as featured in PistonHeads' spy shot story (see link below), plus the Maserati Quattroporte and Coupé. It's the first time Ferrari has combined all-wheel drive and a transaxle configuration.

It uses a constant velocity joint and an oil bath clutch, making it compact, and will operate under conditions of poor traction, especially in third gear. In higher gears, it'll work only in short bursts to avoid overheating.

See the Autocar story below for more.