Ferrari’s First EV Sounds Like It Has A V-8 Under The Hood. It Doesn’t
- Ferrari’s first all-electric model is expected to debut in 2025.
- The car will have a unique “sound signature.”
- A new video showing a test mule reveals what the car sounds like.
Ferrari’s first all-electric model is due sometime next year, and the Italian supercar maker is actively working on it, as attested by spy shots showing a test mule with comically fake exhaust tips held together by hope and a lot of tin foil.
But while we’ve seen the Maserati Levante-like prototype in photos before, the noise it makes has been unknown until now. Thanks to a YouTube video published by Acriore (and embedded at the top of this page), we now know what the Italian firm’s EV will sound like–or rather how it sounds right now because things might change until the car is officially unveiled.
In short, the mule sounds like it has a V-8 engine under the hood, but it most likely doesn’t, as indicated by the yellow warning stickers indicating we’re dealing with a battery-powered test car.
Earlier this year, Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna said that the company’s upcoming EVs will have unique “sound signatures” and that they won’t be silent. The Italian automaker even patented an EV exhaust note in 2023 to make things official.
EVs are required by law to have some sort of noise generator that usually comes in the form of a speaker located underneath the bodywork. That’s for warning pedestrians that a car is coming but it looks like Ferrari doesn’t want to use just any old buzzing sound and instead is working on faking a combustion engine.
The upcoming performance EV, the name of which is still unknown, is rumored to cost well over $500,000 when it debuts next year, according to Reuters. Technical details are still not known, but seeing how this is a Ferrari we’re talking about, we expect great handling and performance.
That said, if you’re into fake-sounding EVs, you could always go for the much less expensive Abarth 500e, which can also pump out rumbling noises from its rear-mounted external speakers. In Europe, the pint-sized electric hatchback costs about $37,000, a fraction of the Ferrari.
Mind you, the Italian marque that’s known for its prancing horse logo won’t go all-in on EVs just yet. It plans on making its V-12 powertrain that motivates the Purosangue SUV for as long as it’s legal.