Ferrari has just filed a series of patents relating to some pretty innovative powertrains, giving us some clues as to where the Maranello-based firm is headed for its upcoming models.

The presented document is entitled “Car equipped with a hydrogen-powered heat engine”, but in fact it does not only describe this system, but rather a series of unusual technologies that could be used for future sports cars.

Hydrogen combined with thermal, that means nothing to you? It’s also a technology that Toyota is working on, and a sports model equipped with the technology competed in the 24 Hours of Fuji endurance race last year in Japan.

A six-cylinder hydrogen engine mounted “upside down”?

The patent was filed both in Europe and in the USA. It bears the signature of Fabrizio Favaretto, who, according to his LinkedIn profile, has been with Ferrari for 24 years and currently holds the position of “Head of Innovative Vehicle and Powertrain Architecture.”
The documents describe a hybrid sports car with an internal combustion engine in the rear and an electric motor in the front. The electric drive system on the front axle is not described in detail, but the rear motor is really new, as is the gearbox.
There is a thermoblock in-line six-cylinder engine running on hydrogen. Why did Ferrari choose an in-line architecture for its six-cylinder engine, like BMW or, more recently, Mercedes? For the simple reason that this configuration will provide more space for the hydrogen tanks, which are placed behind the cockpit, on either side of the engine. The engine, oddly enough, is also mounted “upside down”, meaning that the crankshaft is on top and the cylinder head is on the bottom.
Why is the engine positioned the way it is? This would be because of the transmission, which would have to be placed higher than the engine and thus allow for a larger air intake at the rear of the car. In general, this is nothing new, as some WWII fighters also had their engines reversed in this way. It would also be the only solution for Ferrari if the engineers want to keep their car’s compact dimensions and short wheelbase.

Several forms of supercharging were studied at Ferrari

The oddities don’t end there. The patent covers several methods of supercharging. In one case, the use of two centrifugal compressors installed coaxially on the sides of one electric motor was considered. The energy needed to drive the compressors electrically will be generated during braking by the front-mounted electric motor, and although the word “battery” is not mentioned in the documents, it is assumed that it is used to store energy.
Another version has a different arrangement of the two compressors, which, however, are still driven by an electric motor.

Instead, a third option describes an MGU-H (engine-generator) type system with an exhaust gas turbine capable of recovering electrical energy to drive one or more compressors.