Ferrari boss: Never to electric 19 | 08 | 2011

IT'S GREAT WHEN, in the world of ever-increasing political correctness, someone just comes straight out and tells it as it is. Three cheers then for Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo.

The Maranello president, when asked about the possibility of an electric Ferrari, refused to follow the unwritten rule which generally states bosses of car manufacturers must answer awkward questions in the style of a politician.

Hats off to di Montezemolo, the sickeningly suave and sophisticated, perma-tanned Italian for the following answer.

"You will never see a Ferrari electric because I don't believe in electric cars," he said matter-of-factly. "I don't think they represent an important step forward for pollution or CO2 or the environment."

Brilliant! Confirmation, if ever it was needed, that the world is being duped by a whole industry which has been created to supplying electric vehicles as the perceived answer to our fuel and environmental concerns.

But don't think di Montezemolo and his engineers and development guys are simply sitting back ignoring the needs for alternative fuels; they're not.

First look inside the all-new Ferrari FF

Last year Ferrari showcased its hybrid 599 HY-KERS (pictured) on the eve of the Geneva Motor Show. The experimental car, designed in part by the team behind the KERS technology in the Ferrari F1 racer, is fitted with a seven-speed DSG gearbox with a 100bhp electric motor integrated onto the rear of the gearbox casing.

This, in turn, is capable of both powering the car purely under electric power or giving a 100bhp boost for ultimate acceleration, whenever the driver demands it.

I'll not bore you with technology, but the result is the 599 HY-KERS doesn't only post a 10.4sec time for 0-200km/h (0-125mph) — compared with 11sec for the standard 599 — but returns just 140g/km CO2 emissions.

"We are working very, very hard on the hybrid Ferrari," di Montezemolo, said. "This should be the future, and I hope in a couple of years you can see it."

We can't wait. But in the meantime, check out Ferrari's stunning video of its latest four-wheel-drive Ferrari FF.

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Jim McGill