FERRARI has teased us with the sound of their new Formula 1 engine ahead of their 2016 car’s official reveal.

The team uploaded a video to social media of the first time they fired up the upgraded version of their 059/5 turbocharged V6 hybrid engine.

Watch the video and listen to the sound in the player below!

While the overall look of the team’s 2016 car will be revealed in an online launch in coming days, it is already being reported that there will be plenty of changes under the skin.

The upgraded engine is one part of a smaller power unit and gearbox assembly that, it is hoped, will provide Ferrari with the aerodynamic and horsepower boost to take the fight to Mercedes this season.

The focus of the team’s development on its Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) has been in the combustion chamber, reports motorsport.com.

“One target that has been set has been to reach a 300 bar pressure in the combustion chamber, much higher than last year’s figures that were understood to be around 220-240 bar,” wrote motorsport.com’s Franco Nugnes.

“Ferrari’s aim is to reduce the ignition time, and make the engine operate in a similar way to a diesel with auto-combustion.

“If you can get the fuel to burn before the ignition spark, through high pressure within the chamber, then that will deliver a substantial increase in power. It’s easy to say but very complicated to carry out.”

The team will also introduce variable length inlet trumpets — first seen in Formula 1 in 1991, banned for 2014, then re-allowed in 2015 — to improve airflow into the combustion chamber.

Elsewhere in the engine bay, the team has put emphasis on smarter packaging of its ancillary components — a trait displayed by Mercedes’ dominant hybrid power unit.

Last year’s Ferrari had a large intercooler in the V of the V6 engine, but, reports formula1.com, the variable inlet trumpets have forced them to instead use two smaller intercoolers.

“Between them, these elements (one of which will be situated on top of the fuel tank and the other on the left side pod) will ensure that the engine has the cooling needed to maximise its extra power,” reported formula1.com.

The packaging of the gearbox, energy harvesting units and oil tank have also come in for attention.

“To ensure that they can use a very narrow gearbox — a potential advantage aerodynamically — Ferrari have moved the MGU-K and placed it low down on left side of the engine (as it is in all other manufacturers’ units),” the report adds.

“The new oil tank meanwhile is both lower and wider than before, offering a potential improvement to the car’s centre of gravity, while the clutch is no longer in the engine but inside the gearbox bellhousing.”

Whether the changes will be enough to allow Ferrari to fight consistently with Mercedes on speed won’t be borne out until the lights go out at Albert Park, but confidence is high in Maranello.

“In terms of the engine, Ferrari is already on a par with Mercedes-Benz,” outgoing Ferrari team manager Massimo Rivola told Speedweek.

The new Ferrari will hit the track for the first time in Barcelona when F1 testing gets underway for 2016 on February 22.