Ferrari: greener California presented in Paris

For the 2010 Paris Motor Show many had already told that Ferrari was preparing a greener version of the California, taking the path towards fuel-efficiency for the first time in many years. The rumours were right and the Italian brand brought to the French capital a version of the California equipped with the new HELE (High Emotion Low Emissions) system, developed to reduce the environmental impact of its cars, while still boosting performance and driving pleasure.

Thanks to this technology the Ferrari California sees its CO2 emissions reduced from 299 g/km to 270 g/km. This still represents a reduction of 23 per cent over an urban cycle.

Over the last months the engineers at the Prancing Horse headquarters had the challenge to optimize the existing technologies in order to reduce its energy requirements (vehicle efficiency) and increase the amount of power generated (engine efficiency).

The greener California features the Stop&Start system and the HELE system incorporates a new intelligent engine fan and fuel pump control, electronic air-conditioning compressor displacement control and a gear-shift pattern that adapts to driving style.

Together these solutions are responsible for the cut in CO2 emissions and the performance increase. The Ferrari engineers were able to reduce current absorption and cut the cooling system’s weight by over 2 kg as well as reduce aerodynamic drag by 5 per cent at high speeds.

The Caifornia HELE has its fuel pump capacity controlled by the engine CPU in order to limit power demands on the alternator. The air conditioning  system has also become more efficient with the amount of torque absorbed by the system being cut by 35 per cent, not affecting the efficient cabin cooling.

Thanks to these technical enhancements the California can use an extra 25 Nm of torque which boosts the responsiveness of the Ferrari.

The California is the first Ferrari to feature the Stop&Start system, which restarts the car in just 230 milliseconds. By equipping the California with this system, the objective was once again to improve fuel consumption levels and sportiness. The has been designed specifically to allow the driver to restart the engine not just by releasing the brake pedal, but also by using the accelerator pedal or the UP paddle mounted on the steering wheel.