No Ferrari will drive itself, if CEO Benedetto Vigna has anything to say about it.
LORENZO MARCINNO
The whole point of a Ferrari is to enjoy how it drives. That’s why we’re not surprised to hear CEO Benedetto Vigna say the company hasn’t put much thought into autonomous driving technology.
Speaking at the Financial Times Future of the Car Summit, Vigna was asked whether Ferrari would have to look outside the company to meet its software needs for its expanding lineup of electrically powered luxury vehicles.
“In a cabin, there are four kinds of software,” Vigna said, according to Insider. “There is performance software, there is comfort software, there is infotainment software, and there is autonomous.”
“The last one, we don’t care.”
Vigna has been consistent on his opinion on self-driving cars for Ferrari since taking up the position of CEO in 2021. Last year during the company’s electrification strategy presentation he laid out a similar stance.
“No customer is going to spend money for the computer in the car to enjoy the drive,” Vigna told Bloomberg back in 2022. “The value of the man, of the human at the center, is fundamental.”
In fact, Ferrari bosses have had this attitude for years now. Two executives said back in 2016 the company had no plans for an autonomous vehicle “for the foreseeable future.” But in that same breath, they also said Ferrari had no plans for a four-door or SUV. And we all know how that turned out.
Brian Silvestro Road & Track staff writer with a taste for high-mileage, rusted-out projects and amateur endurance racing.
Keyword: Ferrari CEO Says 'We Don't Care' About Autonomous Driving