Plans originally appeared several months ago and it was confirmed that the design was a legit project Ferrari was working on.  Back in May, Ferrari patented this design according to Autocar. The patent covered six different layouts, all with one thing in common: two wheels being powered by an electric motor and a combustion engine powering the other two wheels.  However, the Hybrid Ferrari is not entirely designed to save on fuel costs; instead, the hybrid design is more for better handling.

According to Autocar, “The aim of the present invention is to provide a four-wheel – drive vehicle with hybrid propulsion…and being at the same time easy and inexpensive to produce.”  Ferrari went on to comment that the 4×4 system is not only more simple to produce, but it will be weigh less and friction will not make much of an impact.  Moreover, optimal performance is not thwarted since the engine doesn’t have to use all four wheels at the same time. This is an option the driver can choose since, “The four-wheel drive that can be engaged enables the driver of the automobile to decide whether to use the rear drive or the four-wheel drive; in this way, the driver can use the rear drive in optimal conditions of adherence and can use the four- wheel drive in poor conditions of adherence”.

Although it’s not entirely designed to save on fuel costs, the design does reduce fuel consumption by 35% (17 liters per 100km) since it is a hybrid vehicle.  So in 2010, Ferrari will kick it off with something that’s entirely new to them.  However,  they’re not the only power car manufacturers  trying new things in a green way.  Lots of supercar manufacturers are jumping ship as well, including Kepler Motion, Toyota, and BMW to name a few.

Thanks Autocar, WorldCarFans, Greenpack.org, Gizmag, and GoodCleanTech!]