By Mark Kleis
Friday, Feb 26th, 2010 @ 8:57 pm

Ferrari has announced that it will be unveiling a hybrid model at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show, but someone decided to ruin the party and leak some images just a few days early. Information is limited, but Ferrari’s foray into the hybrid market is rumored to also utilize an all-wheel drive system and KERS technology, rather than a battery-electric system.

Ferrari first unveiled the Ferrari 599 GTB at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show, and since then rumors have often circulated that Ferrari would one day produce a hybrid version of its exotic sports car.

Adding to the speculation, CNET points out that Ferrari filed for European patents concerning a “4WD system with hybrid propulsion” in June, 2009. By that time, Ferrari had confirmed that it was hard at work developing a hybrid vehicle and hoped to have it ready within a year.

“It has to be the avant-garde in automobile technology. We’re constructing cars with an enormous part of the innovative technology. We’ll present a 599 hybrid in Geneva, which will represent a great path towards the future,” said Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo, while speaking at the presentation of the 2010 Formula One Ferrari.

Speaking to GoAuto at the opening of a new Ferrari- Maserati dealership in Sydney, Australia, Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa addressed the company’s Geneva-bound 599 hybrid concept, but said a production version of the show car won’t be viable for another five years. “The suppliers are not ready. Everything is underdeveloped. There is a lot of work to so. It is not for tomorrow. We haven’t decided when [it will be introduced]. It will be around that period [2015], but not before five years,†he told GoAuto.

Although a hybrid powertrain would improve fuel economy by about 30 percent, Felisa says Ferrari will instead focus on other fuel-saving technologies such as cylinder deactivation, automatic start-stop and electrically-power auxiliary systems.

While a hybrid version of the 599 isn’t in the immediate future, Felisa did reveal a GTO version is “coming soonâ€. Unlike typical hybrids, the 599 hybrid will use a hybrid system derived from Ferrari’s F1 racing efforts. Called Kinetic Energy Recovery System, or KERS, the mild hybrid system employs an electric motor near the rear transaxle and a lithium-ion battery pack. The system allows for regenerative braking as well as an auto start-stop system. Thanks to its F1 roots, Ferrari’s road-going KERS system will also give drivers an electric boost at the touch of a button.

The KERS system won’t turn the 599 into a Prius rival, but it promised to improve fuel efficiency by about 30 percent. Although a large improvement percentage-wise, that bump will only improve real world fuel economy from 8.7 mpg to 13.8 mpg.

References
1. ‘Fever-pitch 458 Italia…’ view
2. ‘Ferrari Hybrid…’ view

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