What happens when Ferrari & AMG go electric?

A hybrid Ferrari. An electric AMG. The world on its head… all this and more in our Mega Test ‘22.

You know the electric revolution is upon us when it comes to you via Maranello and Affalterbach – the hallowed grounds of Ferrari & AMG, respectively.
 
Who would have thought that Ferrari would abandon its glorious V12 for V6 twin-turbo hybrid power and AMG would substitute its sonorous exhaust note for the whine of an electric motor?

Well, I suppose it was only a matter of time. The beauty of this annual mega test is that it gives us a window in time, 12 months apart, that illustrates where we are and where we’re headed.
 
In this case, it showed us that the heart and soul of a Ferrari is very much retained – lo and behold, enhanced even – by the addition of a lithium-ion battery pack. And while I do miss the romance of a hand-crafted V8 in the engine bay of an AMG, not to mention the wail from its quad exhaust, the accompanying fleet footedness very much remains. In fact, if there’s one machine in this entire test that appears to have driven straight off the set of a Sci-Fi film, it’s the AMG EQS 53. Inside and out, it’s truly the embodiment of the ‘paradigm shift’ that we’ve been talking about for so long.
 
The really interesting part for me is how the DNA of the individual brands is retained, even in their EV avatars. Take the BMW i4 and Volvo XC40 Recharge for instance. The i4, like all 3 Series sedans and 4 Series coupes before it, is happy to pull lurid power slides till its rear tyres are reduced to white smoke, while the Volvo – which is inherently as capable – will rap you on the knuckles if you so much as attempt to be mildly juvenile behind the wheel of this sensible Swede. On the track, the Volvo immediately went into Pre-Safe mode and choked me with the seatbelt until I resumed 'appropriate' behaviour.

If we set aside the true merits of the ICE versus EV argument for a moment, what we know is this – EVs can be a lot of fun to drive. Sure, I miss the visceral feel of a free-revving engine, but you can’t argue with the refinement of an EV for everyday use. Power is instant and, because the centre of gravity is low, handling is good. It may not be organic, but it is effective – and it is the future!

So, there you have it, in a year’s time expect to see a lot more EVs in our Mega Test ‘23…

Download our November 2022 issue here --> https://www.autox.com/emagazine/

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