Ferrari 499P hybrid powertrain: how ERS and 4WD work

If a racing car’s engine is what most excites enthusiasts, the hybrid powertrain of the Ferrari 499P, the Prancing Horse’s Le Mans Hypercar, is no exception. The Prancing Horse’s Le Mans Hypercar uses innovative technologies to extract the best performance from the combination of an internal combustion engine and an electric unit, the latter on the front axle. This allows the Hypercar to benefit from four-wheel drive in the situations specified in the FIA World Endurance Championship regulations.

ERS. The Internal Combustion Engine on the rear axle and the Energy Recovery System are two “souls” that enable the 499P to deliver a total maximum power output of around 700 horsepower (515 kW), within the regulatory limits. Mauro Barbieri, Endurance Race Cars Performance Simulation and Regulation Manager, explains: “The term ERS refers to the combination of the high-voltage battery and the MGU (Motor Generator Unit), a system that can deliver up to around 270 horsepower. This system allows the hypercar to generate electrical energy and store it in the battery during braking and to improve the car’s performance during acceleration, either in combination with the combustion engine or as an alternative to it.” The battery pack, with a nominal output of 800 volts, benefits from the experience gained in Formula 1, although it was developed specifically for this project.

4WD. In the Le Mans Hypercar, the electric unit, when braking, works as an alternative to or with the front brake discs to slow down the 499P, while when accelerating, ERS’s major benefit is the ability to activate 4WD. “The electric motor’s activation speed,” Barbieri continues, “is set by the BoP and also depends on the size of the tyres used by the different hypercars.” The Prancing Horse cars can only use the positive torque unleashed by the electric unit at over 190 km/h, that is, in specific conditions and on certain sectors of FIA WEC tracks.

At Le Mans, these conditions occur near the final part of the Porsche curves and in the initial part of the track when exiting the Bugatti circuit and entering the 24 Hours circuit. At Monza, the venue for the fifth round of the 2023 season, drivers take the second turn of the Ascari chicane and the Parabolica corner, which leads onto the main straight at speeds of over 190km/h.

The advantages. Hybrid hypercars use less petrol per stint by harnessing the electric motor’s power, benefiting from less onboard weight. In addition, in the traction phases, when 4WD activates, the all-wheel drive provides better energy distribution to the rear tyres, which thus suffer less degradation.