Ferrari has filed an application in Europe to patent an intriguing new forced induction four-cylinder engine that employs an electrically operated turbocharger and is apparently capable of serving up a precisely controlled exhaust sound.
According to the diligent folks over at AutoGuide, the Maranello-based brand filed the application with the European Patent Office on 18 July 2018.
The US-based publication says the four-pot engine features a turbine (which is driven by exhaust gases) inserted into the exhaust duct, which operates an electric generator.
The resulting energy, says AutoGuide, is used to power an electric motor capable of sending drive to the wheels and an electrically assisted compressor (which is inserted in an intake duct and, Ferrari points out, is mechanically independent of the turbine) that forces air into the engine. Of course, like other forms of electric assistance for turbocharged engines, this set-up would serve to mitigate turbo-lag.
Perhaps even more interestingly, though, Ferrari says in its application that the fact that the turbine is sited in an exhaust duct would help with the precise control of the exhaust note.
In effect, the speed of said turbine wheel could be finely adjusted (by the ECU, we’re guessing) to tune the exhaust sound at any given engine speed.
