Ferrari goes green
Prancing horse unveils a biofuel ragtop that's not only cleaner than its petrol sibling, it's also meanerSuch has been the impact of the tree-hugging green lobby that even Ferrari -- seemingly the last bastion of uncompromising, performance-at-all-costs tearaways -- has bowed to the enviro brigade.
The prancing horse used the Detroit show to unveil the F430 Spider Biofuel, a new variation of its drop-top that's propelled by E85 (85 per cent ethanol/15 per cent unleaded) -- a fuel that not only cuts CO2 emissions, it's also bio-renewable.
Ferrari says the car is a result of the company's program to cut fuel consumption and emissions of its cars by 40 per cent by 2012. In keeping with this aim, the F430 Biofuel features "significant developments" in aerodynamics and weight savings.
But here's the real kicker. Where one might associate alternative fuels with dumbed-down performance, the F430 BioFuel is actually faster than its petrol counterpart.
Ferrari is boasting of a power boost of 10bhp (7.5kW), while peak torque is said to be up by four per cent. According to our reckoning, this means it kicks out 368kW and 484Nm, compared with outputs of 360kW and 465Nm for the petrol-powered F430. In addition, there's a five per cent drop in CO2 emissions, according to the Maranello mob.
The F430 Spider Biofuel features modifications to the fuel feed system and the engine's central processing unit (CPU), enabling it to run on anything between pure petrol to an 85 per cent blend with ethanol without changing the compression ratio. This makes it a true FlexFuel vehicle.
Ferrari says the FlexFuel F430 Spider is a direct result of technology developed to meet new regulations in Formula One that call for the use of BioFuels.
In Formula One the level is 5.75 per cent, while the FIA GT and American Le Mans Series (ALMS) -- both of which were dominated by the F430 GT2 in 2007 -- targets a 10 per cent ethanol blend.
Furthermore, the A1 GP Championship, which uses Ferrari engines from this season, also requires a 10 per cent blend.
Ferrari claims the speed of technology transfer from its racers to its road cars means all of its production vehicles can already use up to 10 per cent ethanol (E10) without any modifications.
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