Ferrari won't launch its first electric car until 2025, but a patent recently published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) provides an early indication of its design.
First spotted by The Drive, the patent for an "electric or hybrid sport car" describes a mid-mounted battery pack in the spot where the engine would normally sit. Battery modules would sit on a subframe-like structure that could be bolted to the chassis.
In addition to stacking battery modules to create a "mid-engined" electric supercar, the patent also describes mounting smaller modules under the floor of the passenger compartment. Ferrari also describes a hybrid configuration that retains the mid-mounted battery pack, but with a front-mounted internal-combustion engine.
Ferrari electric supercar battery configuration patent image
The midship battery pack is angled slightly upward, which Ferrari says produces "negative lift," likely meaning downforce. Ferrari also says this setup "allows for an ideal exchange of heat within the platform," indicating it may be designed to aid battery cooling as well.
The patent document specifically says cylindrical battery cells would be used for the floor-mounted modules, but notes that the mid-mounted pack could accommodate "all types of cells, namely cylindrical, prismatic, or pouch cells."
The battery configuration patent follows a patent application for a modular electric drive system filed with the European Patent Office in 2020. While we won't see these features applied to an all-electric Ferrari for a few more years, the automaker does plan to focus on hybrid models like the SF90 Stradale and 296 GTB. The company is also looking into hydrogen and biofuels.
