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How to make hybrid cars sexy? Call them Ferrari

Ferrari's new hybrid is a beautiful car – as it should be for the best part of AED1.4 million

Frank Kane's ride - the Ferrari 296 GTB Supplied
Frank Kane's ride - the Ferrari 296 GTB

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) – not a moniker to get the blood racing, is it?

Although many car industry experts think PHEV is the way to go, bridging the gap between the internal combustion engine (ICE) and fully electric cars like America’s Tesla or BYD of China, plug-ins do suffer from an image problem.

You think of lumbering people-carriers, or anonymous taxi fleets, where the economics of driving are all-important. Plug-ins are better value to run than ICE cars, and don’t suffer the high purchase and maintenance costs of full EVs.

Or you think of committed ecologists, determined to do their bit in the battle against global warming, and opting for a plug-in family four-door saloon, which undoubtedly reduces those horrid CO2 emissions.

But can a plug-in ever be sexy?

Well actually it can, as I found out recently on a weekend test drive of the latest Ferrari 296 GTB. Boring it is not, I assure you.

The 296 is only the second, tentative foray by the legendary Italian manufacturer into the plug-in market, but this time Ferrari has taken its green credentials a bit further by giving the 296 a V6 engine.

For a manufacturer of high-powered motor cars famed for massive V12 engines, roaring exhausts and neck-jerking acceleration, that is quite a break with tradition. But surely it misses the point of Ferrari, which is precisely those boy-racer features?

Not a bit of it. The design geniuses in Maranello have managed to produce a sports car that tips its hat to the environment without, apparently, losing any of the features that have made it a firm favourite in the car-crazy UAE.

It’s a Ferrari, so it’s fast. A three-litre petrol engine coupled with a 123kW electric drive give you 820 horse power – huge for a V6 engine – and gets you from 0 to 100kmh in 2.9 seconds, with a top speed of 330kmh (205mph).

Ferrari’s track-designed steering and suspension provides the reassurance that, even at high speed on tight turns, you remain in charge and fixed to the road. But maybe, as they say in F1, “if you feel in control, you aren’t going fast enough”.

Dubai’s 120km speed limit environment was fast enough for me, though I did allow myself the thrill of overtaking considerably faster. Exhilarating, but well within the car’s capabilities.

I only had two slight moans. The controls were too closely bunched around the dashboard and steering wheel, and every button was touch (not push) sensitive. It was confusing and difficult to negotiate, and not just for a technophobe like me – the valet guys (supposed experts) kept opening the bonnet when they were trying to adjust the AC. That needs attention.

The other whine is, regrettably, age-related. Entry and exit of the two-seater for me was an embarrassment. I’m sure some young Italian stallion can go from reclining to full standing position in one graceful move, but it’s beyond me.

All in all, it’s a fantastic driving experience, and a real attention-grabber. I was tempted to put a sign on the windshield advising: “No photos or videos please!” 

But how serious is Ferrari in its journey towards eco-integrity?

On the steering wheel of the 296 there are touch buttons offering you four driving modes: Qualify (full-out all 820 bhp track mode), eDrive (full electric power), Performance (Ferrari “normal” petrol power) and Hybrid (alternate use of petrol and electric).

Well, I rarely touched Qualify (too scared), and drove most of the time in Performance for the full-throated Ferrari experience.

In eDrive, the silence was disconcerting. You only get a maximum range of about 20km in all-electric – enough to get you to the next petrol station, I suppose, or see you through an urban zero-emission zone (increasingly common in Europe), though I’m not sure how you’d explain to the local cops that your sleek super-car is really helping save the planet.

The Hybrid function flummoxed me. In normal road conditions, it chose electric as its main mode, but when you floored the pedal – to overtake quickly, for example – it switched automatically to full ICE.

Near-complete silence to full Ferrari roar was shocking. It would take me a while to get used to driving in Hybrid, which I am sure is the most eco-efficient way to travel if you’re worried about global warming (as we all are, obviously).

The 296 is a beautiful, stylish car, as it should be for the best part of AED 1.4 million ($380,000), and a further sign that Ferrari is taking seriously the issues climate change presents to the car industry.

But until the technology gets much, much better, I think it should stick to straight but sexy hydrocarbons – in the Gulf, at least.

Frank Kane is Editor-at-Large of AGBI and an award-winning business journalist. He acts as a consultant to the Ministry of Energy of Saudi Arabia and is a media adviser to First Abu Dhabi Bank of the UAE

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