Ferrari's all-electric model won't launch for another year, but early tests indicate it has all the driving characteristics and excitement of a real Ferrari, according to Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna.
“The final judge will be the customer,” Vigna told CNBC during the inauguration of the company's new E-Building in Maranello, Italy. “More and more people have started driving our electric Ferrari and they have a good feeling. The driving characteristics are there.”
Vigna said the defining characteristic of a Ferrari is the emotional experience. Having driven the all-electric Ferrari himself, he said: “I had this kind of thrill.”
Ferrari's plan to build an electric model marks a bold and expensive bet for a luxury automaker famous for its powerful, roaring combustion engines. Little is known about the electric model, which is not scheduled to launch until the fourth quarter of 2025. However, the notion of an electric Prancing Horse has already sparked vigorous debate in the automotive community and among wealthy car collectors.
Much of the debate centers on engine sound. Ferrari powertrains are prized for their symphony of roars, rumbles, pops and high-pitched moans. Electric motors are largely silent.
Vigna said Ferrari's power acoustics will always be “authentic,” meaning the company will not try to recreate the sound of a combustion engine through fake audio programs. However, he hinted that it could better amplify or display the natural sound of an electric motor.
“The electric motor is not silent,” he said. “There is a way to let it work in a unique way.”
Vigna added that the sound of the engine is only part of the emotional experience of driving a supercar.
“You interact with your eyes, your ears and your whole body,” he said. “When you talk about the Ferrari experience, about the driving characteristics in a car, you are talking about having a unique emotion when you are in the car. Because it is about linear acceleration, lateral acceleration, braking experience, gearbox shifting. So there are many 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 will continue to offer customers the option of internal combustion engines and hybrids along with the electric model. Ferrari, he said, will remain “technology neutral,” meaning it will let customers choose their powertrain.
A Ferrari in progress at the supercar maker's E-Building in Maranello, Italy.
Crystal Lau | CNBC
With the new E-Building, which covers 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 any of the three engines in the same factory, making it that maximizes efficiency and flexibility.
“The choice is in the hands of the customer,” Vigna said.
The CEO said that while he hopes some customers will never buy an electric Ferrari, others will make the switch and some drivers will only “become part of the Ferrari family” if they can afford an electric vehicle.
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 strong that waiting times for some models are up to three years. Vigna said the new E-Building will allow the supercar maker to expand production, but declined to provide specific goals.
“Waiting is part of the experience” of owning a Ferrari, Vigna said.
