The future Ferrari may have a side exhaust

Ferrari has filed a patent application for a side exhaust system that could give a different look to future road cars.

The application in question was published by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on May 28, and was originally filed by Ferrari on Aug. 24, 2023. In it, Ferrari describes an asymmetrical design in which the exhaust comes from one side of the bodywork between the rear end of the door and the front end of the rear fender. It is supposed to be used for cars with engines placed behind the driver, which means Ferrari's mid-engine.

The point of this seems to be enhancing the exhaust sound. Ferrari says in its applications that it is becoming more difficult to create pleasant exhaust notes due to the turbochargers and gasoline particulate filters required for new cars sold in the European Union. These devices reduce the noise level of the exhaust, Ferrari says.

The side exhaust moves the exhaust port close to the cabin, caused by other necessary equipment like turbo, particulate filter, and catalytic converter Interestingly, Ferrari refers to 2 classic race cars from rival car manufacturers — Aston Martin As an example of the effectiveness of its promised asymmetrical side exhaust design — the Porsche DB3S and Porsche 962C.

Side exhaust is used in production vehicles such as Dodge Viper, but it is not usually associated with Ferrari. A car like the 250Testa Rossa had an exhaust pipe running along the side of the car and out in the back, but the production model did not use a side exhaust.

Ferrari also uses side exhaust in combination with a hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine, something the automaker discussed in another recent patent application. Ferrari believes that burning hydrogen instead of gasoline is a way to reduce emissions while maintaining a combustion engine. But the viability of that technology remains in question.