Ferrari's monster goes 'green'
Ferrari "made its name selling the sort of testosterone-packed cars that get petrolheads hot under the collar", says Ray Massey in the Daily Mail. But now, even the maker of these red-blooded monsters "is going green".
Ferrari revealed its 200mph, electric hybrid at this month's Geneva motor show. Its aim was to produce a car that "cut pollution and fuel consumption while retaining the brand's breathtaking acceleration and performance".
The hybrid uses an electric motor to back up a more traditional 6.0-litre, V12 petrol engine and is planned to be available as an option across Ferrari's entire range of cars by 2015. Carbon dioxide emissions are cut to 270g/km – a 35% reduction on a conventional petrol-only model – and the car is expected to do up to 25 miles to the gallon, whereas the petrol-only version manages less than 16.
Ferrari has to be "Seen To Be Doing Something" for the environment, says Bill Thomas in Top Gear. But green PR moves aside, this car is "impressive technically". It has skinny (120mm thick) and highly efficient batteries and a regenerative braking and stop-start system.
So not only does Ferrari hit its carbon targets, says Harry Metcalfe in Evo, but it hits 125mph from rest in just 10.4 seconds compared with 11 seconds for the standard 599. "Who said hybrid cars were boring?"