I was driving along the road next to a Jeep Wrangler 4xe on a weekday morning and noticed the driver had the convertible top up, a coffee in his hand, and electric mode engaged. That weekend I saw the same Jeep cruising through my neighborhood. The top was down, it was full of people, and its V6 engine purred as it raced from one stoplight to another. I had an intriguing thought: If Jeep continues to build that configuration its internal combustion engine may soon be a costly added feature, a fun noisemaker drivers opt for if they can afford it.

Here’s a more blatant recent example: The Bugatti Tourbillon. This 2026 hypercar features three electric motors that can generate 789 horsepower and enough battery to cruise for 37 miles. It could have had an electric motor at each wheel and a bigger battery for 1,914 horsepower and 300 miles of range. How do I know? The Rimac-Bugatti company builds exactly that car, the Nevera.

Instead, Bugatti chose to use the weight/space to cram a 1,000 horsepower V12 engine into the car. Mate Rimac admits he went with naturally aspirated for the sound and feel. This engine didn’t need to produce nearly the 1,600 horsepower of Bugatti’s outgoing turbocharged W16. In fact, with one of its electric motors in the transmission, the driver won’t even be able to tell whether their horsepower is from combustion or electric at any given moment. That engine is just a fun noisemaker.

Europe just passed an emissions ban, effectively outlawing internal combustion engines for the 2035 model year. Multiple U.S. states are considering the same thing. Some cities are banning combustion engines in downtown zones even sooner. But that law may only apply to us peasants.

Italy is already seeking a combustion ban exemption for automakers such as Lamborghini and Ferrari. Roberto Cingolani is an Italian minister for ecological transition and happens to be the retired director of Ferrari. When the press asked about the future of Italy’s “boutique” luxury automakers, Cingolani said dismissively, “I am convinced there will not be a problem.” 

Lamborghini’s Chief Technology Office added, “I believe what we sell is emotion, and part of that emotion comes from the sound of the engine…For us, it’s fundamental to continue to use a V12 engine.”

Porsche’s CEO responded to Lamborghini’s statements bluntly. “De-carbonization is a global question and everybody has to contribute.” But while he was saying that, Porsche was already developing a $44/gallon synthetic gasoline and lobbying to transform the combustion ban into an “emissions ban” to allow clean, synthetic fuel be burned in future generations of its $100k+ 911. It was successful.