FatBillyBob, Well Ferrari should have a considerable head start then as a very popular vehicle Mitsubishi have already made a plug in hybrid SUV, and I've heard of but not researched electric trucks. Generating electricity is a dirty business but the main advantage is that it is done away from cities, therefore cities and people who live in them will in the future enjoy cleaner air. Now if governments would just invest in solar, or as California does it; using the suns heat to create steam (much simpler and better than solar panels as solar panels require fancy materials, I believe) which is used to turn generators/turbines just like a coal plant, we would have the best of both worlds. And yes I am aware that in some countries it snows, etc. but we have this enormous energy source that until the planet dies is there, never-ending, for free ... which we are just, in most part, ignoring. One day we will find a sustainable way to transport electricity from one country to the next, like we currently do with gas/oil, meaning problem solved as countries like Australia could export electricity from their deserts which are roasted pretty much every day 365 days a year. Heck it is probably worth running a cable ... as over time cheaper but ship builders won't like that. This is the problem with the capitalism system, often the wrong direction is taken for financial gain of a stronger person/company. Personally instead of *****ing and moaning about the direction of motorsport and road cars, purchase a great IC car now to keep and enjoy for as long as you can, and when good electric cars come out purchase one too to use for the mundane trips to save the fuel for your great IC car. We will be like vintage car enthusiasts we see now puttering around in their Model T Fords ... oh and go to your local race track and watch/get into club racing as you may find that F1 is not really the pinacle of motorsport after all, just the fastest ... with the loudest marketing constantly ramming it's supposed awesomeness down our throat. Those photographers and (er, almost) journalists have to pay their mortgage somehow ... so ofcourse they hype it up. Pete
Generating electricity doesn't need to be dirty; it depend what you use to produce it. At present, we have electricity producing plants using steam turbines powered by coal, oil, gas or nuclear energy. In other words, we use one type of energy to produce another one! How efficient is that ? On top of that, using these methods are dirty, affect the environment, our health, our water, etc... Next to that, there is a huge amount of clean renewable energy, completely untapped and ... free! Wind, ocean tides, hydro power and even thermal energy come from free, but is hardly used. None of it needs to be transported and their use would not affect the environment, the climate, or our quality of life. That's where your comment about capitalism explains everything. Most of our economy, our energy structure has been built around mining, drilling, exploring and now fracking for fossil fuels. That's how fortunes were made, countries became rich (some of them), and it is the cornerstone of the present power structure in the world. Of course, those in power who benefit from this system, and those who made fortunes out of it don't want to change it. Imagine Shell, Exxon, Mobil, Gazprom, Aramco and other oil companies going bust because oil becomes obsolete. Imagine the oil tankers becoming redundant. Imagine Saudi Arabia and most of the Gulf State reduced to famine because they cannot sell their oil anymore. Russia would collapse, and most oil and gas producing countries. Suddenly, the whole political and economical system would be turned on its head. Not only there would be panic in Wall Street, but in the seats of power of most industrialised countries. So, any change will come out of political choice only.
The US government built a large experimental solar electric plant in the Nevada desert not far from Las Vegas. It's truly an amazing piece of engineering. Here is what they found 1). It isn't as sunny as you would think. Its useless in the early morning, at dusk, and of course all night. But even clouds interfere with its ability to produce more than they thought. 2). The mirrors lose a lot of they efficiently with dust and containments. You know-- bird droppings. And surprisingly there's a lot of dust in the desert. Who would have guessed that? The mirrors are in constant need of being cleaned-- especially after it rains. It's a huge task and the plant is shut down during the process for safety reasons. 3). The desert may be sunny during the day but at night it's very cold. The water in the tanks that provide the steam has to be pre-heated or they take too long to heat up in the short winter hours. To do this they use-- natural gas because it's plentiful and cheap. 4). Thousands of migrating birds are instantly vaporized by flying into the beams, not to mention honey bees. 5). Airlines are cautioned to fly around it as the light is blinding. This causes untold fuel to be burned as they manuever around it. Now, I am not against solar. But this notion that it's just free and clean energy is s farce. It has its advantages and disadvantages.
Point taken, but do you know an electric producing method that doesn't require constant maintenance? I don't know any. Coal or gas burning power stations need a lot of staff and maintenance to run, and nuclear plants are the same. Wind turbines needs maintenance too. So why a solar electric plant would be different? It's not like if you can build a plant and them leave it unattended and working on its own. But this doesn't mean that solar electricity plants are inefficient, they could provide SOME of the power, SOME of the time, and not all the power, all the time. The energy supply needs to be complimented by other methods: ground heat transfer, wind power, tide power, hydro plants, etc... linked together in a grid.
Even if they spent trillions starting tomorrow on this plan it would not be completed before 2050. So why on earth is "THE" sportscar manufacturer even thinking about electric cars now?? Because their boss is a kiss """" suck up slug who wants every penny he can get from the going broke fast EU and American governments.
I think it is called future proofing your company I guess many said the same as you to Benz back in 1885 (or whenever?). BTW I don't want electric sportscars too, but I'm one of the 0.1% of car enthusiasts left Pete
See fatbillybob's post Also I think it would be deemed cheating if Ferrari's FE was not strictly electric and had a v12 hidden inside Pete
Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know dang well I'm referring to all this talk of electric powered Ferrari sportscars...not the racing ones (which, btw, is not F1 as referrenced earlier) All I've seen is mention of hybridisation; not solely electric power.
I would be interested if they can win Le Mans by competing with the IC entries of other manufacturers with an E car. No recharging permitted. Until then, the speed of the windows in my TR suggests this is not something they should try.
"The Prize" by Daniel Yergin is a great read on the history of oil in the modern world. It follows the development of oil from when it was skimmed off ponds and sold as a medicinal product (rock oil) to modern times. One thing I find interesting is how oil has won/lost wars. The book talks about how England needed a strong navy for defense. Prior to the second world war their navy vessels were coal fired because they had large coal reserves in the country. However, when the German navy was using oil powered ships that were much more capable they had to change their fleet or the British navy would no longer be formidable. Since they had no source of oil in England they started an oil company (BP) to look around the globe for a source of oil to supply their navy. The reason I bring this up is until all the ships in the US or other world powers can prove that renewable powered ships/planes/tanks are superior in performance I don't see oil going away any time soon. Yes I know that many are nuclear currently but that is usually just the really big boats. On another note, the book talks about how the Japanese should have bombed the other side of Oahu where the South Pacific fuel depots were as that would have crippled the US fleet. They also mention how at the end the Japanese were trying to make a crude oil product from vegetation and the reason Kamikaze became a thing was they only had enough fuel for a one way trip. But that is for another discussion.
Ferrari President Sergio Marchionne has confirmed that Ferrari is looking at joining Porsche and Formula 1 rivals Mercedes in signing up to race in Formula E in the near future. Speaking after watching the Formula 1 a team secure a 1-2 finish in the F1 Hungarian Grand Prix, Marchionne talked briefly of his interest in the championship saying, In the wider sense of what we do with cars between Maserati, Alfa (Romeo) and Ferrari, we are looking at this with interest. Maybe with one of the others -- not Fiat -- but Alfa or Maserati. For a manufacturer so ingrained in Formula 1 history, this is a huge step -- even if the team may not be badged as Ferrari -- especially given recent announcements around the world of a ban on conventional fuel burning cars in the not too distant future. Ferrari boss Sergio Marchionne admits an 'interest' in Formula E
Marchionne hints at Formula E entry, but not with Ferrari Sergio Marchionne has said it is unlikely that Ferrari will follow Formula 1 rival Mercedes into Formula E in the near future, but is open to entering one of the other Fiat brands like Alfa Romeo or Maserati. Asked about a possible FE entry, Marchionne said: "I talked with Toto, but I do not think Ferrari enters directly. "However, we are thinking of doing so as FCA. And if we will enter, with one of the brands from the group, we do not know which one it will be right now." https://www.motorsport.com/formula-e/news/ferrari-formulae-entry-unlikely-936926/
Watch as Tesla Model S easily smokes Ferrari 458 in electrifying street race WHILE everyone was focused on the Tesla Model 3 this summer, this stunning new video footage proves the Model S can still steal the show. Tesla Model S P100d beats Ferrari 458 Italia in drag race | Cars | Life & Style | Express.co.uk I think Ferrari needs to get involved in electric cars now !!!
I think Ferrari should develop a small maybe 2.0 or 1.5 V8 or even V12 to go along with the electric motor. That way it will recharge itself and sound nice and have fast off the line times. A 1.5 V12 could be a screamer. Also the Tesla top model S is a tank. I think the early version S is almost 4900lbs. A truck in cars clothing Let's not also forget the Tesla is not really green as battery production kills any hope of being good to the earth, let alone the production of electric to recharge it. And building windmills and solar panels produce pollution when building and solar panels are future landfill. Let FIAT run in this race series. Do not put poor Alfa or Maserati in this stupid series. Electric car racing will be short lived and will cause the death of racing as we know it now. No one will go!!
I take that back. Maybe the tree huggers will take up racing. We know they have always secretly had a love for it all along, now electric cars will give them the nudge to finally go to a race
According to the list of drivers, it looks like more than tree huggers want to be in Formula E. There are also more constructors in Formula E than in Formula 1 and WEC put together. How do you explain that ? Time for a review of your prejudices !!! LOL
Discussed many times here - the cost of competing and the marketing ROI. That's it. There is NO upside vis-à-vis alternative fuel source vehicles that a company like Ferrari couldn't otherwise do on their own. The series is attracting marques because the costs are controlled VERY significantly, and the series has some buzz. Nothing more, nothing less.
Not a fan of FE so I'm not sure but I thought/think it is, like Indycar, a one constructor series. If I'm mistaken, so be it. I'll assume I'm mistaken. There's 10 FE teams and assuming (which I really don't) they each are constructors, they don't out number F1 and WEC constructors combined as there's also 10 teams/constructors in F1 ('has to be) and I haven't even counted the constructors in the WEC. (edit: I counted 7) Mayhaps your bias towards electric racing needs review as it appears to distort your arithmetic. LOL