Ferrari's V-6 Hybrid Is a Replacement for Displacement
From the March/April 2024 issue of Car and Driver.
While the roar of Ferrari V-8s lives on in the SF90 and Roma, we pour out espresso shots for those that powered the likes of the 458s, 488s, and F8s and their glorious eight-cylinder soundtracks. And though it's unlikely any V-6 will ever win a Grammy, Ferrari's new 120- degree 3.0-liter V-6, code-named F163, might get a nomination.
The turbos mounted in the F163's valley mark a departure from the V-8's outboard compressors. The hot-V configuration increases the turbos' responsiveness. At full boil, they cram 29.0 psi of boost down the V-6's throat, helping deliver 654 horsepower and 546 pound-feet of torque. That's 218.6 ponies per liter—more potent than the SF90 XX's 197.0 per liter.
With the cylinder banks splayed out, the F163 is 3.4 inches lower than the F8's V-8, thus reducing the center of gravity. Interestingly, the V-6's increased space between cylinders makes it just 0.4 inch shorter in overall length. Nevertheless, the engine package is reportedly 66 pounds lighter than the V-8.
As in the McLaren Artura, an axial-flux electric motor sandwiched between the engine and transmission supplements the 296GTB's V-6. Whereas the more common radial-flux motor's magnetic force is oriented perpendicular from the center and then loops back to each pole, an axial motor's force travels parallel to the motor's rotation, from front to back and vice versa. By design, an axial motor is far more compact and power dense than a radial. Its 165 horsepower and 232 pound-feet conspire with the V-6 to make one quick Ferrari.
You Might Also Like