The times, they are a changin', and even Ferrari is being dragged into the hybrid scene. We brought you news yesterday that, during the debut of Ferrari's 2010 F10 Formula 1 car, CEO Luca de Montezemolo revealed that a production-ready hybrid version of the 599 would be coming to Geneva. Today we have a preview image of the car leaked to the Web.

The 599 Hybrid is still cloaked in mystery, but previous rumors of the car's Geneva Motor Show debut broke last December, following confirmation last June that a hybrid was in testing. The details dropped then indicate the 599 will keep its V-12 engine, and add a road-going version of the KERS system Ferrari developed--and has now dropped--for F1. It's not clear if the 599 will employ the all-wheel-drive system leaked last summer, but it seems likely.

The benefit is expected to be a 30-percent improvement in fuel economy, from a miserable (but understandable, given the 612-horsepower output) 8.7 mpg to a slightly more tolerable 13.8 mpg. Considering the average Ferrari only sees a few thousand miles per year, however, this is more an exercise in high-tech engineering than in fuel savings.

-By Nelson Ireson for The Car Connection

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