By David McCowen,John Mahoney

Copyright news

The brand had its worst day on the sharemarket since listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 2016, wiping billions off its valuation as its price dropped by more than 15 per cent.

The fall came as Ferrari revised down its earnings potential for coming months, with Ferrari chief executive Benedetto Vigna saying “we cannot commit on something we cannot achieve”.

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The brand halved its target for an upcoming electric model, from 40 per cent down to 20 per cent of sales.

Several performance and luxury car brands have shifted goals surrounding EVs, revising estimates downward from the optimistic targets set in the last couple of years.

Porsche has announced that its EV-only sports car will have a petrol engine after all, and Mercedes declared that V8 power will return to some models after green alternatives fell flat.

Ferrari has invested heavily in electric power, building a new factory in preparation for a fresh electric SUV.

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Enzo Ferrari once said when you buy a Ferrari you pay for the engine and the rest of the car is thrown in for free.

If that’s true, the inbound Elettrica is set to be the best-value Ferrari ever made as it comes with not one, but as many as 10 different motors, plus a car.

Bizarrely, we can’t tell you much yet about the latter as the famous Italian carmaker hasn’t unwrapped its first-ever EV yet.

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Instead, it wants to build the hype for what’s believed to be a radically styled high-riding four-door coupe by revealing some of its advanced EV tech first.

Created to overshadow inbound all-electric Lamborghini Lanzador and the battery-powered mid-size Bentley ‘urban SUV’, Ferrari claims it hasn’t left a stone unturned to get an edge over its rivals.

Fresh tech like its quad-motor powertrain, that will produce at least 1000hp (736kW) and see the near-silent zero-emission Ferrari launch from 0-100km/h in just 2.5 seconds, before running out of puff at 310km/h.

Those figures are seriously impressive for an SUV and even remarkable when you consider that it’s all produced from motors, battery pack and EV tech that are all designed, developed and built in-house at the carmaker’s new E-Building factory in Maranello, Italy.

Of course, it helps Ferrari has been experimenting with hybrid power in F1 since 2009 and launched its first plug-in hybrid, the LaFerrari hypercar in 2013, and its latest 296 Speciale and 849 Testarossa both feature electrified powertrains.

Which poses an immediate question. Why turn its back on its supercar heritage and produce another heavier SUV? According to Ferrari the answer lies in performance. Because of the inevitable weight penalty, the increase in speed and ability on track isn’t big enough over its current models to justify building it.

Not mentioned is the growing demand in key markets like China, who must be crying out for a Ferrari-branded electric car – but the new Elettrica is shaping up to be so much more than that.

Supplying electricity to the front and rear axles that each neatly package the compact motors, single-speed transmission and power electronics within a single aluminium casing is an all-new 122kWh battery.

Sourcing the pouch-like cells from a Korean supplier, the Italian carmaker set about creating a battery pack that manages to squeeze in more energy per kg than any other battery on sale – a remarkable feat, if you can ignore NIO’s even more advanced semi-solid-state battery that’s available in China.

Those quad-motors match the approach taken with the battery by coming with a commanding power to weight ratio, while extensive use of aluminium should see the SUV-coupe comfortably slip under its 2300kg weight target, making it the lightest in its class.

Incredibly, that’s including the four further e-motors that power the active suspension derived from the F80 hypercar that, thanks to a lower centre of gravity gifted by mounting all the components lower, means it cancels body roll while offering a softer more cosseting ride.

The new Ferrari promises to be quiet too. Engineers have eliminated nasty vibration from the motors and intrusive road and tyre noise by creating a lightweight hollowed-out, aluminium sub-frame, a first for Ferrari.

For those who think they will miss a V8 or V12, the Italian brand has an answer. Inspired by an electric guitar’s pick-up, engineers have mounted a small sensor in the rear e-axle that amplifies the vibrations produced by the motor. We haven’t heard the resulting soundtrack, but those who have promise it will add the missing connection and involvement most EVs just lack.

Another two e-motors that steer the rear wheels independently raise the final tally to ten and should give the Ferrari the kind of dynamics currently only delivered by is supercar range.

There’s even Hyundai N-style simulated gear-changes and downshifts using the left- and right paddles.

Engineers enthuse that the Ferrari Elettrica will be the best driving EV ever and they might be right, but it is still far from perfect, even with its home-baked tech.

Despite powerful 880V electrics, the charging rate is capped at only 350kW, with a 10-80 per cent charge tipped to still take around 25 minutes. The range is also nothing to write home about at 530km, which is frustrating considering such a large battery.

We’re expecting a radical cabin and drop-dead gorgeous looks will help make up the deficit because right now the production version of the Mercedes-AMG GT XX, with its 1000kW of power, promise of sub-15-minute charging, 360km/h top speed and even more advanced EV motors seem more appealing.

Especially if Ferrari plans to charge $800,000 for its new Elettrica when it lands in Australia in the first half of next year.

Ferrari Elettrica

PRICE: From about $800,000 plus on-road costs (estimated)

MOTOR: Elettrica – two electric, 736kW, 122kWh (gross) battery

WARRANTY/SERVICING: Three years/unlimited km, free servicing for 7 years

RANGE: 530km (WLTP estimated)

SPARE: Repair kit