Ferrari Prius?

Formula One is introducing a hybrid-drive system for the 2009 season, but the first road car to benefit from the trickle-down effect may come from Ferrari

. In an interview with German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, Ferrari President Luca Cordero di Montezemolo said the company is planning a Ferrari model powered by a Formula One-style hybrid powertrain. Di Montezemolo said Ferrari aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 40 percent between now and 2012.

Much of that reduction will come from a push to use lightweight materials like aluminum and carbon fiber composites, and considering a move from V12s and V8s to turbocharged V6 engines. The F1 hybrid system, dubbed KERS, will use a spinning flywheel to store kinetic energy during braking and feed it back to the drive wheels by way of a continuously variable transmission (CVT).

Of course, any hybrid from Maranello, di Montezemolo says, will have to still be “fundamentally” a Ferrari. But will it have solar panels?

[via Motor Authority]