Some would consider a hydrogen-powered Ferrari a sacrilegious concept. Merely uttering the words sends a chill down the spine of the Ferrari faithful. While the rest of the automotive world focuses on the electrification of our cars and roads, Ferrari has come up with a concept that has the world scratching their heads as to how the iconic Italian manufacturer could pull this off. Like an Elon Musk fever-dream, the car in question has been giving Tesla nightmares. Can Ferrari actually bring this concept to fruition?
Hydrogen has become the latest trend for the automotive sector
Tesla pioneered the electric vehicle, led by their enigmatic CEO, Elon Musk. Love him or hate him(we suspect most Americans fall under the latter), Elon Musk has been the nucleus at the center of change in the automotive sector since taking over as CEO of Tesla in 2008. Once in the top job, he pioneered drastic changes that, at the time, were only concepts on paper.
Through some sizable investments, the EV has become immensely popular and a must-have for the climate-conscious consumer. However, hydrogen has emerged as a contender for the EVs title as the world’s most climate-friendly vehicle. The only emission from a hydrogen car is water vapor. Promising stuff to say the least. However, hydrogen is a complex material to work with, despite it being the most abundant element in the universe, that we know of.
Ferrari has approached hydrogen with its usual sense of innovation
Ferrari has, in the past, stated that they have no interest in the electric vehicle. That stance, much like their cars, has evolved over the years, and now Ferrari has opened a new factory in Maranello that is solely focused on producing components for its electric future. What you might not know is that they have a plan for hydrogen cars too.
Ferrari’s hydrogen combustion engine is unlike anything we have ever seen
Ferrari has filed a patent in the EU and US for an upside-down combustion engine that runs on hydrogen gas. Ferrari’s Vehicle and Powertrain Architectures Innovation Manager, Fabrizio Favaretto, put pen to paper on a patent filing for the new hydrogen engine. It must be noted that Ferrari has not stated their plans as to which markets it plans to release the engine into. Favaretto, a 24-year Ferrari employee, had the following to say regarding the technology:
“Without passion, self-belief, and bravery, innovation would simply fail to exist. Experience is useful, but is not enough. You need to use competence and basic physics. Very few basic natural law, but very well understood. You must use them like the musical notes to compose, e.g., you must find the right spatial location of the center of mass (XYZ), higher volumetric mass close to the ground, etc. Spatial Mathematization. With the basic physics of hydrogen, you must forget everything you know about how to design a car. Talk is cheap.”
Will Ferrari bring the hydrogen combustion engine into reality
While the patent filing is a sign of Ferrari’s new stance and approach towards the hydrogen sector, it is only a concept right now. Like one of their supercars at high revs, Ferrari has a proclivity for developing new tech at breakneck speeds. So, if there was a company we trusted to bring the technology to fruition, Ferrari would be who we put our money on. In the ever-changing world of the automotive sector, trends come and go like pop stars all looking for their 15 minutes of fame. Surely this new engine can propel us beyond our wildest dreams, if Ferrari actually brings it to market. They have the engineers and production capacity to do so.
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