World-renowned high-class automobile firm Ferrari has unveiled a new environmentally friendly hybrid car design intended to offer reduced fuel consumption and lowered CO2 emission levels.

Showcased at the Geneva Motor Show, the new Ferrari shuns the manufacturer’s traditional red scheme in favour of a striking green livery - symbolic of its ‘green’ credentials - and it is based on Ferrari’s existing GTB Fiorano, which has been in production for the past three years.

Ferrari 599 GTB HY-KERS

A hybrid vehicle, the Ferrari 599 GTB HY-KERS (Hybrid Kinetic Energy Recovery System) is being exhibited as a demonstration of the kind of eco-technology Ferrari intends to implement across its entire range of cars in future years.

The original model is able to go from zero to 60 miles per hour in under four seconds, a quality shared by the new eco-Ferrari. However, it features an electric motor which can be used in isolation (making the car entirely emissions-free) or in combination with the usual engine. This gives it an additional 100+ horsepower over the standard 599 GTB model.

Ferrari Kinetic Energy Recovery System

The new green Ferrari’s featured Kinetic Energy Recovery System is a form of regenerative braking that recycles the energy used when the brakes are applied, feeding it back into the car and recharging it. Technology of this kind has already been exploited within Formula One cars, and is now starting to be incorporated into private motor vehicles, too.

The Ferrari 599 GTB HY-KERS will produce 270 grams of carbon for every kilometre driven: equivalent to a 3O+ per cent drop below those generated by a standard GTB. Additionally, it will be able to travel up to 25 miles per gallon of petrol: close to ten more miles than the standard model can achieve.

“This shows how Ferrari is applying hybrid technology to high-performance cars”, a Ferrari representative stated. “Central to our objective is maintaining the balance, handling and performance characteristics typical of its cars, despite the inevitable disadvantages in terms of weight. Ferrari has also applied its F1 technology to the design, engineering and construction of a new kind of electric motor which also helps optimise the dynamics of the car.”

According to information detailed on Ferrari’s website, the company plans to achieve a 2010 CO2 emissions cut of 30,000 tons (equivalent to a 40 per cent drop). Technologies including photovoltaics will be used to attain this, it says, adding that in this way, Ferrari will achieve complete self-sufficiency.

See also:

Detroit Motor Show to Showcase New Electric Cars

Electric Car Designs at Auto Show