Ferrari boss wants to bring the sound out of electric motors to keep the passion for driving in his future electric models

Ferrari boss Benedetto Vigna spoke yesterday at a conference in the US organized by the FT on the subject of the future of cars, and answered several questions from journalists, either in front of everyone or in a few separate interviews, making some very curious statements. One of them was made for the BBC and refers to the sound of electric motors for future Ferrari models.

Photo: Benedetto Vigna, head of Ferrari

He was asked how Ferrari will keep its unique character, an inalienable part of which is the sound of V8 or V12 engines, in an age of electric motors, which are silent. Then the head of Ferrari said that people are wrong when they think that electric motors are condemned to silence and that they actually have sound inside. More than that, Vigna also said that he and the engineering team at Ferrari are working on bringing out the sound from inside the electric motors, saying that the ultimate goal is for future electric Ferraris to have that sound uncovered. Asked what that sound will be like, as it certainly won't replicate the roar of a V12, the Ferrari boss said the sound won't be identical, but it will be unique and exciting and, most importantly, it won't be a recorded and generated one, but a sound originating directly from the electric motor.

It is hard to even imagine what exciting sound the head of Ferrari is talking about in his future electric models, but the only sounds that especially the older electric motors make are the running sounds, resulting from the inaccuracy in the construction and the generation of frictional forces between some components. Therefore, with electric motors, the louder sound is usually the indicator of a more imprecise and inefficient construction in the yield of the energy consumed. And then, that sound is more reminiscent of old warehouse vehicles than inspiring you to drive a Ferrari.

Therefore, we can only think of a construction carried out with additional elements, possibly a rotor with component parts that would generate a different sound, or certain pumps for the cooling circuit of the electric motor, or simply mechanical components added for the sole purpose so that when they are turned, a sound of pleasant frequency is produced, even at the cost of the loss of efficiency. So, the unexpected promises of the head of Ferrari for the future electric age remain an enigma for now, but it is equally certain that he really has the passion for driving in his sights, as he also stated yesterday that Ferrari is not at all interested in autonomous driving and the company he doesn't care at all about this technology totally incompatible with the idea of owning a Ferrari. So, the future Ferraris will not drive themselves and, even if they will give up the large internal combustion engines — still trying to maintain them as much as possible, including thanks to synthetic fuels — when they become electric, the head of Ferrari promises us that they will sound unrepeatable, to keep our passion for them alive, even in an age of electric cars.