Ferrari has previously announced their intentions to create a hybrid supercar by 2015, but the latest designs they hold the patents for are nothing like the concept they mentioned. A couple months ago, the official word was that the new hybrid supercar would be using their kinetic energy recovery system that is borrowed from Formula One. This sort of hybrid design now seems like nothing special, as just about every hybrid out there, like the Toyota Prius or Honda Insight, is able to recover energy when slowing down through regenerative braking. Of course, Ferrari will need their hybrids to stand out, so hit the jump to see how they are doing this.

The Ferrari hybrid system does not take fuel economy into consideration and is only designed for one thing: performance in low grip situations. The six sets of designs that they patented all share one thing: they show an engine that is powering one set of wheels and a hybrid drive that powers the other two. Ferrari designers believe that this design will bring all the benefits of an all wheel drive system, like the seemingly limitless grip that either a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution or a Subaru STI offers, while foregoing the lack of a rear wheel drive only option.  Any improvements in fuel economy would merely be a pleasant side effect. 

Their idea seems to make sense as most all wheel drive transmissions out there are quite a bit heavier than their rear wheel/front wheel drive counterparts. In many cases, they also suffer from reliability problems because of the increased strain that the motor puts on the transmission when it just won’t let go of the tarmac.  Just ask any early Nissan GT-R Owner. Having two separate drive systems would help this problem, while offering the option of being driven with only the rear wheels when traction is ample. Though of course there is the added weight of the hybrid drive system, but…

[Source: Autocar]