Ferrari is looking to give more of its exotics hybrid powertrains, and new patents discovered by are hinting at what to expect.
The Italian automaker has already confirmed that every Ferrari sold will have some kind of hybrid element in it by 2019, and a previously published patent application revealed an entirely new hybrid drivetrain that could support more than one future model. Three more patent applications have been published recently by the European Patent Office that confirms Ferrari is working on a front-engine hybrid setup. All three describe a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission paired to a hybrid powertrain.
The first application is for a “Method to Control an Electric Motor with Adjustment of the Value of the Equivalent Impedance” and was published on March 8, 2017 after being filed on September 2, 2016. In it, the patent application details “a method to control an electric motor, which allows to improve the operation of the electric motor by compensating the negative effects of constructive dispersion of the components and at the same time is easy and inexpensive to produce.”
SEE ALSO: All Ferraris will Have ‘Hybrid Elements’ by 2019
The second patent application was also filed and published on the same dates as the first, and was for a “Method to Control an Electric Motor of a Hydraulic System of a Transmission in a Vehicle.” That application involves an invention that provides a method to control an electric motor in a transmission of a vehicle, such that the control method allows to improve the operation of the electric motor.
The final patent application was filed a little later on September 22, 2016, and was published on March 29, 2017. It might be the most important of the three since it’s for a “Road Vehicle with an Electric Drive.” And like the other two, it details a seven-speed dual clutch transmission, but this patent doesn’t feature a reverse gear. Instead, Ferrari talks about relying on the electric motor to reverse.
It also lists a few advantages for the road vehicle being described in the patent application, saying that it “is simple and inexpensive,” which is strange, since this is a Ferrari we’re talking about. But it does describe the vehicle has being “particularly efficient from the energetical point of view.”
Expect more details on Ferrari’s new hybrid powertrain to be released in the coming months as the company prepares to electrify its entire lineup.
