A Ferrari EV is coming soon. The company has said its first EV will have its own “sound signature,” and earlier this year, a videographer caught a Ferrari EV prototype driving around Maranello making an engine-like sound. Now thanks to two recent patent applications, we know that Ferrari is working on a virtual engine and gear-shift system for EVs.
One patent describes a system for an electric vehicle that uses an electric motor to simulate the torque output of an internal-combustion engine and the gearshifts of a geared transmission. The torque output from the motor is defined by the position of the accelerator pedal and the virtual gear. The driver can actuate virtual gearshifts via steering-column paddles, as in other Ferrari models.
The other patent describes an audio-control system for such an EV, with both interior and exterior speakers that reproduce a digitally generated sound that corresponds with a virtual engine and transmission model. The sound can be “a historical, modern or futuristic, adrenaline-filled, [or] relaxed” based on driver preferences, and the system also has specific sounds for gearshifts. The patent also details methods for recording the sound of internal-combustion cars.
Photo by: Ferrari / European Patent Office
So, Ferrari is working on a system to simulate engines and transmissions for its EVs, and the system may mimic historic engines. It’s possible that Ferrari won’t implement this system in its soon-coming first EV, but we would be surprised if that was the case. The company has said over and over again that it wants its EVs to match the emotional experience of its traditional, internal-combustion cars, and this system appears to be a great way to do so.
Hyundai was the first to implement such a system in an EV, emulating an 8,000-rpm turbocharged four-cylinder and eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox in the Ioniq 5 N. The car limits the torque output of its electric motor to give the driver a similar sensation to a combustion engine, and the car can either do automated simulated shifts, or driver-controlled manual shifts via the paddles behind the steering wheel. In the Hyundai, it’s incredibly effective, and sister brand Kia has adopted it for the EV6 and EV9 GT models.
Dodge also has an external and internal device to produce noise for its new Charger Daytona EV, the Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust, but it’s a purely aural system, with no simulated torque outputs or gearshifts. BMW has said it’s developing something like the Hyundai system, but Porsche has been clear that it won’t do something like this itself.
Ferrari said previously that its EV will debut this year, with deliveries beginning in 2026. We’ve reached out to the company for comment on the system, though since most manufacturers decline to speak on future product, we don’t expect to find out much. Either way, we won’t have to wait long to learn more about if this fake engine/gearshift system makes production, and what it will be like.