Everybody knows side-exit exhausts are badass, but they’re also super complicated from a packaging perspective. That’s why they’re really quite rare to see on streetcars. Hell, I’m pretty sure the only production car with side-dumps is the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen, and the last sports car to have them was the Dodge Viper, which went out of production following the 2017 model year. However, if a new patent is any indication, Ferrari may be working on a new car with its own side-exit exhaust system.
These types of systems can have quite a few issues intrinsic to their design, like the need for unique packaging considerations, weight implications, and aerodynamic sacrifices, but according to Ferrari’s filing that was first reported by Motor1, this proposed system, “does not suffer from the drawbacks” of usual side-dump exhausts. On top of that, it is designed to “absorb at least part of the kinetic energy” from a front-end crash, and it can “limit the front wheel getting close to the passenger compartment.” That sounds promising! Ferrari also touts that the Italian automaker can build the system “in a simple and economic fashion.”
Side-dumper
The filing shows drawings of the proposed system extending from the engine behind the front wheels without any sort of significant support. It’s then tucked up and around a member before extending underneath the front doors to outlets behind the passenger compartment. It’s not immediately clear if this system would be destined for a front- or mid-engined car, but if I had to hazard a guess, it would be front. I mean, it would be a bit silly to route an exhaust system the wrong way, no?
Ferrari
Apparently, this isn’t Ferrari’s first foray into side-exit exhaust patents. Back in 2013, the automaker filed for an asymmetrical system with an exit on just one side as opposed to the dual-exhaust setup we see here, according to Motor1. Obviously, that system never made it into production.
Of course, it very much remains to be seen if this system will, either. Ferrari says it plans to launch 20 cars over the next five years, so odds are at least one of them is going to do something funky with its exhaust system.
