Ferrari submits patent for sliding seat which can convert driving positions

Ferrari has submitted a patent for an adjustable driver’s seat which can move between left-hand drive, right-hand drive, and central driving positions. 

The idea, first covered by Carbuzz, was submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office last year.

It relies on the driver’s seat, steering wheel, steering column and pedal box to be mounted together as one unit, which can then move laterally across the car’s cabin on a set of horizontal rails. 

As these connections wouldn't be able to be fixed in place, it also relies on a steer-by-wire and brake-by-wire system — two elements that usually serve to provide the majority of road feedback to drivers. 

The system also wouldn’t work with a fixed passenger seat, so could be limited to single-seat track cars or vehicles that have second seats that are easily removed. 

Once the seat position had been selected, traditional adjustments such as steering wheel height, and forward/back seat position adjustments would still reportedly be able to be made. 

One illustration submitted with the patent shows a pedal box with a manual clutch — something that Ferrari hasn’t offered since the California convertible in 2012. 

Following a similar theme, Ferrari submitted a patent for a twin joystick steering system in a car in November 2023. 

Despite retaining a traditional pedal box with an accelerator and brake, the two joysticks look to serve the same purpose of propelling the car forward, and backward, and steering left to right.