Ferrari (RACE) is a remarkable sports car manufacturer, and sports fans may be more familiar with them from their involvement in and achievements in Formula 1. But Ferrari’s most recent patent application may put wealthy buyers in greater proximity to Charles Leclerc or Carlos Sainz’s seats in future road vehicles. 
Ferrari has come up with a method allowing drivers to move the driver’s seat from the conventional left or right-hand drive position to the central position in the middle of the automobile, according to a new patent application made to the USPTO. The driver’s seat is depicted as being on rails in drawings that were given to the patent office. These rails allow the seat to slide laterally between two positions: on the “conventional” left (or right) side for driving on the road and in the middle of the vehicle for driving on a track. In the illustration, the seat and all of the cockpit’s controls—including the pedals, steering wheels, and gauge cluster—slide together with the vehicle wherever it travels.
Nevertheless, neither a passenger seat nor a rear seat are seen in the drawings. The car is shown in the sketches as only holding one person, though it is unclear if this omission was done on purpose. The concept of the movable “center” seat is not particularly new. Even though the 2018 Audi PB18 e-tron concept car was only built for the Pebble Beach car show, it featured a similar configuration. Ferrari’s patent suggests that the company may have plans to produce this kind of system; after all, a number of Formula 1 technology innovations, including electronic differentials, launch control, and paddle shifters, have found their way into road cars. The single-seater road car that the Italian brand has been playing with is real. The limited edition Monza SP1 and SP2, which drew inspiration from the company’s vintage road racing cars, went on sale in 2018. The single-seater SP1 model, which retailed for an astounding $1.8 million, was powered by a potent V12 engine producing 809 horsepower.
