Ferrari Seeks Even Sharper Steering

Ferrari is hoping its latest steering technology will offer even greater precision than it current cars.

The Italian automaker has patented a new system that is designed to improve steering accuracy and feedback, helping make its next generation of exotics even more accurate and sharper in the handling department. According to the patent, Ferrari is looking to create a system that eliminates a “transmission error” and variances in steering effort with a power assistance setup that uses software to send data to an electrical servomechanism.

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Sound a bit like science-fiction? Let us explain a bit in detail. In current steering setups, the effects of a steering box and universal joints in the steering column linkage often causes a transmission error between the driver’s input and the response on the front wheels. For example, when a driver turns the steering wheel the column and linkage takes up the initial slack before the input is even registered by the wheels. In addition, Ferrari’s patent mentions the steering geometry of current vehicles often result in differences in effort to whether the driver is turning left or right.

The Italian automaker will utilize software that calculates the angle and torque applied to the steering wheel. That data is sent to an electrical servomechanism that applies the proportional force to the steering system itself. While the connection itself will remain mechanical, the setup will help compensate for the transmission error and variances in force. As a result, the steering will be more precise and consistent even though the driver won’t notice a difference in steering effort.