Ferrari goes big on electric and hybrid power for 2025

Ferrari is readying high-performance variants of its best-sellers as part of a product offensive that will almost completely refresh its line-up in 2025.

Incoming are aggressive versions of the Roma, 296, and SF90 sports cars, which will arrive alongside the already revealed F80, a LaFerrari successor. The 296, SF90 and F80 are all hybrids.

The performance push comes as the Italian firm enters the final stages of the build-up to the launch of its long-awaited first EV, which will make its debut on 9 October at Ferrari’s Capital Markets Day.

The onslaught of new models represents a change of strategy for Ferrari, which is not aiming to improve its sales volumes (typically slightly under 14,000 annually) but instead diversify its product mix – selling a greater number of model lines but each in smaller numbers.

“We don’t want to do a few models with a lot of volumes,” said CEO Benedetto Vigna. “We believe this is a little bit against the desirability and is not compliant with our strategy to always become more and more a luxury brand.”

Here's what to expect in 2025...

First EV to offer 'a lot of fun'

It’s hard to overstate the importance of Ferrari’s first EV, which will do away with the critical element that has defined almost every one of the marque’s road cars for 80 years: an engine.

Prototypes spotted so far have used old Maserati Levante bodies, which suggests that the new model could be a higher-riding proposition in the mould of the Purosangue, Ferrari’s first SUV.

Indeed, electrification suits this configuration because the fitment of batteries under a vehicle’s floor requires additional ground clearance, raising it to an SUV-typical height.

Of course, Ferrari may not use the typical ‘skateboard’ design but instead centralise the mass around the front or rear axle. This would provide a distribution of weight to mirror that of its existing front- and mid-engined models.

Regardless, the brand’s priority is for drivers to “have a lot of fun”, CEO Benedetto Vigna said recently. “When we do electric cars, we will produce them in the right way,” he added.

296 to get more hardcore focus

The more aggressive version of the Ferrari 296 – a sports car that earned a five-star Autocar road test rating in standard guise – has much to live up to, following in the footsteps of the acclaimed 488 Pista and the 458 Speciale.

Images of prototypes captured testing near Ferrari’s Maranello base in Italy suggest the more hardcore 296 is in line to receive a range of aerodynamic tweaks. These include a prominent duck-bill spoiler at the rear and what appears to be a more prominent front splitter.

It’s expected to adopt broadly the same formula as those cars, with a smidge of extra power and notable weight reduction to improve its raw pace.

For reference, the 458 Speciale gained 35bhp and shed 90kg compared with the Italia on which it was based, improving its power-to weight ratio by nearly 50bhp per tonne, or 13%. A similar treatment would give the harder-hitting new 296 around 630bhp per tonne. That compares with the existing car’s 557bhp per tonne and, coincidentally, almost exactly matches the ratio of the now-discontinued SF90 Stradale.

SF90 in line to top 1000bhp

Ferrari’s flagship SF90 supercar is also due to get the M treatment. The outgoing 986bhp SF90 had fallen slightly behind in the arms race for more power – with the new Lamborghini Revuelto outgunning it with 1001bhp – so Ferrari is expected to turn up the wick.

The SF90 M is most likely to use the modified version of the twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 and plug-in hybrid setup from the track-focused SF90 XX, which puts out a bombastic 1016bhp.

That would be sufficient to shade the Revuelto, which is the fastest-accelerating car to have featured in an Autocar road test.

Technical changes are also likely to focus on cutting out as much weight as possible. The SF90’s 1570kg dry weight (1698kg as road tested) hampered its on-limit handling, especially compared with the lighter 296 GTB.

Focused revisions like these could be the key to unleashing the underlying potential that has been apparent in the SF90 since its debut.

If you enjoyed this story, please click the Follow button above to see more like it from Move Electric