It’s official: Ferrari’s next-generation hypercar will be revealed to the world on 17 October, following hot on the heels of the extreme, 1,258bhp McLaren W1 that was unveiled a few weeks ago.

A short teaser video shared by Ferrari confirmed the date but gave almost nothing away about the car, and even its name is still a closely guarded secret. But we’ve already spotted the successor to the LaFerrari out testing on public roads. 

Something new is on the horizon. #FerrariSupercars #Ferrari pic.twitter.com/kfpg1J80jM

— Ferrari (@Ferrari) October 16, 2024

It was seen sporting a very aggressive aero kit and a design that appears to have taken inspiration from the Ferrari 499P race car that has twice won the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. These spy shots also give us a good idea of the car’s proportions – which appear to be matched by those of the model in the teaser video – plus some design details, such as the huge ducts in the bonnet and low, aggressive front splitter. 

Technical details about the new Ferrari hypercar remain firmly under wraps. That said, previous images of the car indicate that it will feature a hybridised powertrain and at a Capital Markets Day presentation last year, Ferrari hinted that the newcomer would arrive with “technology transferred from Formula 1 and [the] Le Mans Hypercar.”

Ferrari’s next-generation hybrid tech should yield a power output well into four figures – a necessity for a modern hypercar considering that there are now 1,000bhp-plus electric saloons on sale.

As Ferrari’s hypercars generally map the path forward with tech that’s eventually applied in series production models, we expect this prototype to feature more potent electric motors and batteries to go alongside the internal combustion engine. As with the new F1 engine regulations that will come into force in 2026, the hybrid elements are being shifted from ‘assisting’ the combustion powertrains to having responsibility for a larger proportion of the outright performance. 

It’s still unclear what engine will be used in the hybrid system, but considering this as-yet-unnamed hypercar is the successor to the Ferrari Enzo and LaFerrari, both of which had V12 units, that’s not out of the question here – especially when you consider the new Ferrari 12Cilindri unveiled in May has a 818bhp, naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 under the bonnet.

However, the company’s chief marketing officer Enrico Galliera told Auto Express in 2019: “To be honest, electrifying a V12 means creating a very probably heavy and big car. So electrification ideally should be coupled with smaller engines.” This suggests to us that Ferrari may opt instead for a twin-turbo V8, like those found in the SF90 and SF90 XX Stradale.

The public debut of the next generation of the world’s most sought after series of hypercars might be on 17 October, but needless to say, it’s likely that every single unit is already spoken for.