Ferrari has the same dilemma F1 and IndyCar have

Ferrari F12td. Ferrari feels it can't sell cars if they are silent. The problem it faces is that the Tesla Model S P100D – an all-electric luxury sedan – blows the doors off every Ferrari sold today

For racing to be exciting, it has to sound exciting. Of all our senses, sound is the #1 sensory perception that gets fans excited about the sport. It is why we recommended that the next generation IndyCar not have a turbocharger and add KERS. While turbos are popular on many passenger cars, in fact they partially muffle the sensation sound of the internal combustion engine.

Nothing beats the sound of a high-revving F1 car from years gone by. Part of MotoGP's huge popularity is the high revving sound of its bikes.

The reason why Formula E is downright boring is due to the near silent electric motors.

NASCAR has its signature deep throated roar of its big block V8s, but if they had electric motors no one would come to the races.

And it seems Ferrari recognizes that sound even matters for sports cars that people buy.

Electric cars might make up only a tiny percentage of global auto sales, but they've become a technology upon which numerous automakers are staking their fortunes. Build them, and they will come, the thinking goes writes Mathew DeBord of Business Insider.

It also helps that zero-emission, long-range electric vehicles will help carmakers meet stringent forthcoming government fuel-economy and environmental regulations. That's why EVs are often derided behind buzzy scenes as "compliance vehicles."

One car company that wants nothing to do with this is Ferrari. Although its $1-million LaFerrari hypercar is a hybrid, combining a nearly 800-horsepower V12 gas engine with a 160-horsepower electric motor, full electric will never happen.

"We would not follow to develop a fully electric car," said Michael Leiters, Ferrari's technology head, at the Paris Motor Show, according to Car and Driver. "We are convinced that it"s right to have a hybrid car because, for us, the sound is a very crucially important characteristic of a Ferrari, and our customers want to have this," he added.

That Ferrari sound. It's actually completely addictive and arguable the most important aspect of the Ferrari experience, whether it's with a V12, a turbocharged V8, or a naturally aspirated V8 under the hood. We're talking about a wild animal wail, a constant growl. Former "Top Gear" host Jeremy Clarkson once said that the engine noise of a Ferrari 458 supercar sounded like a "burning bear."

Electric cars, of course, can be very fast — supercar fast, in fact — but they're also extremely quiet. The velocity is science-fiction-like. There is no sacred scream or unholy roar from their motors.

Ferrari has staked its reputation on this. So for now, they're going to be a very prominent bystander in the march to the EV future. Mathew DeBord of Business Insider