Ferrari readies LaFerrari successor
Where to go from a 1,000hp V12 hybrid? We're not too far from finding out
Next year will mark a decade since perhaps the most dramatic motor show of modern times: Paris 2012 saw world premieres of the LaFerrari, the 918 Spyder and the McLaren P1. Any one of them would have stolen the show normally - to have all three really was a momentous occasion. But you know how it goes in the Ferrari hypercar stratosphere; a significant step forward is typically made every 10 years or so - think F40, F50, Enzo and LaFerrari - which means we're on the cusp of seeing what Maranello has planned for the 2020s.
Well, kind of. New Ferraris are always shrouded in secrecy, and this new hypercar is no different. Every effort has clearly been made to make this car look like a LaFerrari - even down to the fake quad pipes - but there are some key elements which mark the test mule out as something new. The side profile, though familiar, is slightly different to before, presumably to the benefit of aero and cooling, with a stretched rear deck prominent. Something longer and wider than a LaFerrari, given it's virtually guaranteed to have more power, would make sense.
More than a thousand horsepower? Well, yes, it kind of has to, given Ferrari now makes the series production, four-wheel drive SF90 with exactly that output. And it never takes too long for the 'regular' Ferraris to overtake the really special stuff in terms of power - a 488 GTB had more power than an Enzo. Where that power comes from is a different matter; the warning stickers on the side indicate this mule is indeed a hybrid, but we don't know what kind of electrified powertrain will feature yet - just cranking up the boost on an SF90 seems a bit crude for Ferrari. Perhaps it could signal a move to a downsized V6 future, or maybe it's a glorious swansong for the nat-asp V12. Hopefully the photographer will get a few seconds of video next time...
Other points to note on the prototype include a new front end with a more prominent intake (perhaps because more cooling is required) as well as an altered engine area compared to a LaFerrari, with a smaller screen to peer through and less noticeable intakes. It's all subtly different, but once you start seeing the changes they're impossible not to spot.
It's being suggested that the next LaFerrari (what do they call the car after The Ferrari?) will be revealed as a 2023 model, which would fit the pattern nicely given the LaFerrari was on the road in 2013. But it's all speculation and conjecture for now. With this car and the Purosangue due at similar times, the Ferrari range will be nothing if not diverse by the time 2023 comes around. Imagine what McLaren and Porsche might try to match it with this time...
Image credit | S.Baldauf/S.B.Medien
IMHO Retro-mods is a sector that will grow very quickly because there is much more of a driving experience with a re-built/re-imagined Porsche Ferrari, Aston or whatever. Arguably they look better, generally they sound better and are just more fun to drive at relatively sensible speeds.
Apparently, even for the Hypercar class, homologation isn't strictly necessary... but it would fit the timescale (they enter in 2023, 10 years after the Laferrari launch) and having the next Ferrari 'halo' model closely linked with a Le Mans entry would make it a very special thing indeed.
That class is limited to 670bhp... the road car would want to be producing almost double that to give clear air between it and the SF90 - unless the fact it was based on a racing car made it very light? The class minimum is 1030kg, maybe 11xx for a road car? The SF90 is 1570kg, so the 'F80' could have a much better power to weight with the c.800/900 bhp they may get from a de-restricted LMH powertrain, whatever that ends up being.
I wonder if that's because the run of the mill Ferrari models are looking ever more extreme and spectacular.
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