Ferrari Caught Testing Hybrid V6 and V12 Powertrains With F8 Tributo Test Mules
Just a pair of prototypes, casually driving around Maranello.
Ferrari's last halo car, the LaFerrari, is a V12 hybrid. Ferrari's newest and most powerful road car, the SF90, is a 960-horsepower V8 hybrid. Alfa Romeo has a twin-turbo V6 loosely based on the twin-turbo Ferrari V8, and Maserati has a brand new twin-turbo V6 in its MC20 supercar that's also loosely based on both the Alfa and the Ferrari designs. With all of this mind, as well as others like Aston Martin, McLaren and Porsche developing their own smaller electrified powertrains, it's logical to reason that Ferrari will be ready with its own six-cylinder answer very soon.
To help us confirm that, Ferrari decided to take two of its powertrain mules for a spin around Maranello, hoping to stay hidden under the cloak of the November fog. No such luck, however, as the Varryx YouTube channel took out its telephoto lens to get us all the footage we needed. Motor1 first brought the video to our attention and while the originally Giallo Modena (yellow) F8 Tributo under the white camouflage looks standard enough on the outside, its silent cruising capability before the internal combustion engine's entry makes it absolutely clear that we are looking at not only a hybrid, but also one that isn't powered by the SF90's V8-based system.
Then, there's the high-pitched engine note of Ferrari's second F8 mule, the Rosso Corsa car under the grey-black vinyl theme.
Lately, an extensively camouflaged LaFerrari made its rounds around the factory, suggesting that Ferrari is trialing a hybrid drivetrain more on the conventional side than the hypercar's original KERS system. Now, based on what we can see and hear rolling here at higher than idle speeds, it appears that Ferrari has jammed its 6.5-liter naturally-aspirated V12 into its smaller mid-engine platform, turning fan fiction into reality for purely testing purposes.
