Ethanol-Powered Ferrari in Detroit

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080115/tc_nm/autoshow_ferrari_dc

DETROIT (Reuters) - Fill up your Ferrari at the farm?

The Italian luxury sports car maker unveiled a concept car on Monday that can run on ethanol which it said reflected its engineering expertise from Formula One racing and growing demand for alternative fuel vehicles in the United States.

The sleek Ferrari F430 Spider Biofuel, with green stripes on its silver bodywork, consumes an E85 -- 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline -- mix, a growing fuel blend in the U.S.

Ferrari chief executive Amedeo Felisa said during a news conference at the North American International Auto Show that the concept was part of the firm's efforts to reduce tailpipe emission levels by 40 percent by 2012.

Felisa said Ferrari had gleaned experience in using biofuel in Formula I because of regulations that competitors use gasoline with a 5.75 percent biomass content.

The FIA GT and American Le Mans Series racing organizations require 10 percent ethanol.

For the Spider Biofuel, Ferrari made some changes to the fuel injection system and to the engine's computer chip. The result was an increase in power output, with equal weight and a five percent decline in carbon dioxide emissions.

Ferrari, a unit of Fiat (FIA.MI), shipped 6,400 cars in 2007, up 14 percent on 2006.

Sales to the Asia Pacific rose 50 percent, with 177 cars delivered to China. Sales to the Middle East rose 32 percent.

The operating result was 15 percent of turnover, according to a company statement.

(Reporting by Marcel Michelson, Editing by Peter Bohan)

 

So now you'll get 3mpg instead of 12? And your gas tank is going get eaten away by the ethanol.

 

Isn't that right up Ferrari's alley?

 

As I've mentioned many times in the "Supercars" forums, why must Ferrari lower their emissions? Sure, it is wonderful for the earth, and will no doubt do good, but there are so few Ferrari owners in this world. Pass on the eco-friendly cars to Chevy, GMC, etc. and keep up the good work with the performance.

However, if this eco-friendly subject actually by some freak accident improved the performance, which I highly doubt it will, it would be a win-win situation and definitely worth glancing over.

Just my thoughts,

Andy

 

Andy
Your pretty smart for a 14 year old...you see right through the chaff. Don't loose that to age like so many of us have.

 

Yes, he is...and his point is technically correct, but - there is the problem of "perception".

The world seems to be full of politically active morons who just can't stand to see somebody else having a good time.

This kind of stuff is going to become automatic self defense for all the sports car makers in time, IMHO.

 

ehtenol actually has higher octane than gas. the biodiesal version has 10 more horses then the regular model.

 

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=181895

 

Higher Octane perhaps...Much lower BTU rating if I'm not mistaken. (less energy per gallon)

James...Spot on correct. This will be the future problem Andy will have to battle.

Andy...study hard...maybe become an attourney...you can start a new specialty...ECO-LAW

 

Thanks for the compliment. Only time will tell if I loose my so-called "smarts"

Those politically active, eco friendly, Al Gore wanna-be's aggravates me, almost as much as the politically correct ones that get their panties in a bunch when you say white instead of Caucasian.

Haha, I've wanted to be a lawyer for about 3 years, and then I realized broadcasting and that many people found me to be funny, so I might go that route or a lawyer.

Hell, I'm only 14, no time to be making life decisions

 

The answer as to why Ferrari is going green is largely due to Formula 1 standards. As those new rules get in place for cars to be more environmentally friendly it only makes sense Ferrari transfer that technology over to their production vehicles. BTW here are a couple pics I took of the car:
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Interior shot
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

For Marcel and other Ferrari historians:
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Hey I'm 23 and I haven't made too many big life decisions yet!

 

Ethanol won't be around long. It's just not a good alternative. Costs more, worse gas milage, more smog and huge distribution problems. These GM "Flexfuel" vehicles are a total joke. Total marketing gimmick.

Electric will be the future.

 

Lets see. Use alot of land labor and machinery to till the soil and make food (corn). Then use more energy to turn that food into fuel that gets a vehicle 1/3 less mpg than gas.

Oh yeah..Don't forget to put 15% gas in it so people don't drink it. wouldn't want 'em to have alcohol without paying extra taxes.

Ethanol is corporate/ farmer welfare. It's also moonshine.

Nice bandwagon to jump on Ferrari.

 

Damn! you're one smart SOB I mean Kidd, I think it's time to start killing some of your brain cells I will lower the drinking age in my bar just for you cause you scare me. Damn!

Just kidding you rule .................or soon will........lol

 

The general problem with the "manufactured" fuels is the energy balance --- it should be pretty obvious that you have to put MUCH more energy into the delivered final product than you are ever going to get back out of it. Thermodynamics. In that sense, U.S. ethanol is sort of the "squirrel" of the green movement (really a rat, but has a big bushy tail and a great PR job).

This energy (which ultimately comes from sunlight), can be made up for in the case of countries like Brazil by just making lots and lots of the stuff, and wasting a good part of it in getting the manufacturing process done, and the fuel delivered. However, they have the advantage of huge surplus crops of sugar cane; one of the best sources of feedstock for ethanol.
They are still a net IMPORTER of oil, because it is still needed for other purposes...jet fuel, crankcase oil, chemicals, etc.

In the U.S., despite a lot of Popular Science style hopeful hype on cellulose, saw grass, etc...ethanol by and large means Corn. The simple fact is that we cannot grow enough corn to meet the Congressional 2020 guidelines even if we put every bit of the food/animal feed crop into fuel production. And we would still have to exped a good amount of imported oil, propane, or something to farm it, distill it, and deliver it as well. Plus the stated fact that the total BTU of ethanol is pretty wimpy compared to diesel oil or gasoline. The so-called clean-burning aspect may also be something of an illusion; it does release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, make some NO, and other emissions.

IMHO, this needs some sound scientific thinking rather than all of the utopian politics. If I had my dream program, we would actively pursue (more than the token effort of today) nuclear Fusion; the abundant electricity could be used to produce pure Hydrogen such as is used in the BMW hydrogen seven and not be part of the carbon cycle at all. But this science is probably fifty years out at least given the current lack of progress.

 

+1

Good job Andy.

If I'm not mistaken I just read the other day that GM is sinking more money into Ethanol related fuel alternatives. Or am I mistaken?

If so GM is really making a mistake.

 

+1 COMPLETELY!

IMO, Ferrari has been making performance cars(very good ones i might add) for 60 years now so why change with fuels and worry about emissions.

Like Andy said, yeah its good for the Earth but we dont want a Ferrari Prius...

 

Ugh. How dare you say Ferrari and Prius in the same sentance. Look what I have just done!

Haha. If only my teachers thought of me the same way. Lets just say I'm not quite top of the class. I'm very passionate about cars therefore I'm smarter in the subject than some others... *cough* biology *cough*

As for the bar invitation, I'm not quite a beer drinker yet, but I'll call you when I turn 18

Pssh, no need to rush life, it's not going anywhere... atleast I hope lol.

Edit: Who is willing to bring me to Detroit next year for the Auto Show? haha, I wish!

 

a) Actually, it is. It might be time to start thinking about getting your private pilot's license. You could be through the program the day you turn 16.

b) Mit Romney - he is going to do every thing else for Motor City, and look what his old man did for the AMC corp -

 

You have to be at least 17 to get a private or recreational pilots license. At 16 he could solo.


http://www.faa.gov/pilots/become/rec_private/

 

Given the choices we have now, I say

13YEAROLD for President!

 

back to the topic...

Saab seems to have no problem with E85 fuel.

"....... only 313 E85 fueling stations in the U.S. And motorheads aren’t clamoring for more, because E85 typically delivers inferior fuel economy; it has about 75 percent of the potential energy of gasoline, so it takes up to 20 percent more hooch to keep horsepower on par. But E85 also has a high octane rating (around 110), and Saab realized that a turbocharger could harness it. So Saab cranked up its fans and created the BioPower engine, the first commercially available ethanol turbo. A computer samples the fuel mixture and adjusts boost pressure—from 5.8 psi for pure gasoline to 13.8 psi for E85. Running straight gasoline, the engine produces 148 horsepower, but E85 jacks it up to 184, with no penalty in fuel economy."