Ferrari will launch first hybrid in 2013

Ferrari will offer its first gasoline-electric hybrid system in 2013. The technology will be featured in the as-yet-unnamed car that will replace the limited-edition Enzo.

"We are entering the market with our Formula One-derived hybrid system, which will slash fuel consumption and increase performance," Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa told Automotive News Europe on the sidelines of the Beijing motor show.

Ferrari said that in testing, its so-called "HY-KERS" hybrid has slashed fuel consumption by about 40 percent while decreasing the time it takes to accelerate from 0 to 124 mph by about 3 seconds compared with a Ferrari model without the system.

Felisa said the HY-KERS system adds about 265 pounds to a car. The Fiat subsidiary will compensate for some of that weight gain by cutting weight from the car's chassis and powertrain. Felisa said the new car's chassis will have the same grade of carbon fiber found in Ferrari's F1 cars. That carbon fiber is lighter and more durable than the grade already used in the Enzo's and F50's chassis and body, the CEO said.

South Korea's Samsung Electronics will provide its lithium ion cells to Ferrari, which will put them together in its own battery packs at its F1 racing headquarters in Fiorano, near Modena, Italy.

By Luca Ciferri- Automotive News Europe