Beijing motor show 2012: Ferrari Enzo's V12 HY-KERS

The next-generation Ferrari Enzo will have an F1-inspired hybrid drivetrain, which has been previewed at the Beijing motor show today.

The set-up on show, known as ‘HY-KERS 2012’, mates a mid-rear mounted V12 engine and dual-clutch gearbox to an electric motor. At the front, there’s another electric motor to run auxiliary systems.

Both motors are connected to a battery pack that can be housed “in line with available space and final configuration” when installed in a production car. The first application for the HY-KERS system will be in the all-new Enzo, due before the end of the year.

Ferrari showed an initial application of the HY-KERS system at the Geneva motor show in 2010. That system was designed for a front-engine V12, as was previewed on a 599.

The system has since undergone more than two years of experimentation, and Ferrari has managed to significantly improve its efficiency and reduce its size and weight. Ferrari has now come close to achieving its original target of adding 1.34bhp to a HY-KERS-equipped car’s headline bhp figure per 1kg the system adds.

Ferrari claims a HY-KERS-equipped car will produce 10 per cent more power and reduce CO2 emissions by 40 per cent than an equivalent V12-powered Ferrari without it.

Amedeo Felisa, Ferrari CEO, said that "the hybrid is the only way to meet CO2 emissions - we couldn't do it simply with weight reduction. The new technology means that we should achieve our target of reducing emissions by 40 per cent by 2014, rather than the original target of 2020."

The HY-KERS system will make the new Enzo the cleanest and fastest Ferrari in the range. "Compensating for the weight of the system was the hardest challenge", according to Felisa, but the Italian maker has managed to retain "the necessary centre of gravity and weight balance" to satisfy the company's exacting standards. The system will not switch to pure electric mode at low speeds as many hybrid systems do because it would compromise the noise that Felisa described as "a key Ferrari characteristic."

The HY-KERS system features an extensive technology transfer from Ferrari’s F1 engineers, particularly in its torque management, traction control and brake distribution.

The HY-KERS’ electric motor acts as a generator under braking to recharge the batteries. It delivers power through one of the gearbox’s clutches, and is mated to one of the two main shafts. This allows it to continuously and instantaneously deliver power alongside the V12 petrol engine. All these functions are managed through an F1-derived ECU.

“Work on the system has now reached the end of the experimental phase and the development phase will commence in the coming months,” said Ferrari.