Ferrari will get an automatic brake to save bumper splitters

Even experienced sports car drivers can’t always accurately estimate how close the front splitter is to a curb or an artificial bump. Ferrari’s new patent application proposes a solution to this problem.

Modern splitters are becoming lower and wider, ensuring efficiency on the track, but causing inconvenience in urban operation. For this reason, many manufacturers use front axle lifting systems that allow them to overcome obstacles without damage.

Ferrari is considering another option – not to lift the car, but to stop it at the right moment. According to the patent documentation, the system analyzes the height of the object in front of the car using sensors. If there is a risk of contact with the splitter, the driver receives an audible warning. If the signal is ignored, the electronics independently apply the brakes.

A feature of the solution is that the speed calculation is not performed according to standard electronics, but by measuring the distance between two points in real time. The documents also mention the possibility of displaying messages on a multimedia screen or smartphone.

Similar technologies are already used in Porsche and Chevrolet, where the suspension lift can work in conjunction with GPS: the car automatically lifts in places where irregularities are most common. Theoretically, such approaches can be combined. At the same time, some owners deliberately refuse such mechanisms in order to reduce the weight of the car, and in their case, automatic braking could be an alternative.

So far, it is only a patent, and there is a possibility that the technology will remain among Ferrari’s ideas, without reaching serial production.