Ferrari opens new test track as it gears up for first electric car

Ferrari has built a new test track next to its hallowed Fiorano proving ground as part of a plan to take its prototypes off public roads.

Dubbed the E-Vortex and revealed in the same week that Ferrari will give the first official details of its debut electric car, the 1887-metre track is designed for "precise and repeatable testing in compliance with the highest safety standards".

Ferrari built the entire circuit in less than four months, it says, on a 37,000-square-metre site adjacent to its private Fiorano race track, which will remain in operation.

E-Vortex is divided into several sectors that are designed to evaluate different attributes of Ferrari test cars: there are two wide, banked curves, a 600-metre central straight and a series of bends of various sharpness and width.

The track is finished in a bespoke surfacing "developed using Ferrari's experience and expertise" for the in-depth analysis of comfort and performance.

A 1000-metre workshop has also been built on site for static tests and "certain work on the cars".

Ferrari says the new track "will enable testing activities to be gradually transferred from the road to the track", hinting that the company one day plans to move all its prototype evaluation processes behind closed doors - potentially signalling the end of the Ferrari 'spy shot'.

Spy photographs from the streets of Maranello often give the first look at an upcoming Ferrari model as it leaves the factory. The long-awaited Ferrari EV was spotted on the roads of Modena just last week, for example, but other models including the Amalfi, 12Cilindri and 296 Speciale have each also been spotted first in camouflaged prototype form.

By moving prototype tests to a dedicated track, Ferrari says it can conduct "an even more objective assessment of performance and faster identification of any anomalies".

It also says E-Vortex will "help reduce the impact on traffic in the surrounding area".