At some point, Ferrari will launch a replacement to the LaFerrari, and a prototype has been nabbed testing in our newly-obtained spy photos. Ignore the bodywork that bears a resemblance to the car it’s superseding; what we’re seeing here is a development mule for the range-topping Ferrari hypercar.
Maranello would rather not give away
anything at the moment, so it’s no wonder this rolling test-bed is bathed in
camouflage. Nevertheless, we can see that the front bumper vents are markedly
different to the LaFerrari Aperta this mule is masquerading as. The hood also
lacks a vent, and the sidepods are sculpted differently, too.
Less noticeable is the design of the wing
mirrors and how the rear hood drops most of its transparency, hiding the engine
beneath. Not quite as successful in being hidden are the tailpipes, which
actually exit at the middle, higher up the rear bumper — not in the way the
dummy quad pipes would have you believe. Last but not least, this mule eschews
the LaFerrari’s center-locking wheel nuts for a more conventional five-stud
layout, which may or may not make it to the production model.
The biggest question, though, is what will
power the all-new Ferrari hypercar. It’s thought that the Italian marque would
prefer to preserve its V12 engine. The stickers on this mule suggest that it is
electrified in some way, which would confirm theories that, if a naturally
aspirated V12 were to remain in the brand’s range, it would have to be
supplemented by one (or possibly even more) electric motor.
We also expect the new Ferrari halo car to
form the basis of their 2023 WEC Le Mans Hypercar Class (LMH) entrant. The new
class will be the top-flight endurance series, replacing the LMP1 category with
more road-relevant, hypercar-based competing cars. It will see Ferrari return
to Le Mans and endurance racing as a manufacturer team for the first time since
1973.
