SPIED + VIDEO: Is This ONE Of The First Few Clips Of A Potential EV Ferrari? Perhaps A Hybrid Ferrari Is In The Works?

Over all the years I've been keeping an eye on prototype vehicles, I simply love it. Products in development are so much fun to track.

The intrigue. The mystery. Trying to figure out where it all comes together, piece by piece.

There's just one thing. Automakers haven't been too great about keeping folks from behind the curtain. In the age of cameras everywhere, it's obviously gotten exponentially more difficult.

But the folks at Ferrari do things differently. Known for leveraging older chassis and an amalgamation of parts, it creates Frankenstein cars to do its initial testing. Take, for example, the stretched 348 that boasted the prototype Enzo drivetrain and powertrain.

We may be seeing something similar here.

That's because a matte black Ferrari 458 was spotted at the factory doing some testing. And it's peculiar. Although it's chassis appears to be that of a 458, it's had a lot of modifications to the bodywork. Note the all-new venting. Check out the snorkel bringing air into the engine compartment. Most telling though is the cutout in the rear grille. You can see clearly through the mesh that there is wiring/connections similar to the Ferrari LaFerrari. This hints at some sort of electric action going on here.

Also note: It is eerily silent and when the other cars pass by later they're far from it.

That said, what do YOU think Ferrari is working on here?

CANADIANCOMMENTS - 9/22/2018 5:40:01 PM

+2 Boost

Hmm. An awful lot of cooling going on. Roof vent and a huge screened section in the rear of the car. I guess batteries don't like being too close to a hot engine. But any guess could be valid.

TomM - 9/23/2018 5:51:29 AM

+1 Boost

Europe has not changed its emissions standards - its fuel mileage requirements - and it has several places that are scheduled to eliminate access to ICE vehicles over the next 2o years. As a result - anyone who wants to sell cars there will need to have Hybrids and EVs to stay in business.