Ferrari's are normally red, but when they're not they always seems to get themselves plastered in some hideous Look-at-me paint scheme and this 599 hybrid is not one to break that rule.
One of the stars of the 2010 Geneva Motor show and a token effort to address their environmental impact.
Called HY-KERS, the hybrid two-seater uses Ferrari's Formula One Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) to recover the braking and decelerating energy in a state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery.
That electrical energy is converted into about 650 volts, which gives an additional 100 horsepower that is used to supplement the acceleration of the six-litre V12 petrol engine and also run the engine's air conditioning and power-steering pumps.
The HY-KERS remains strictly an experimental vehicle currently, Favaretto Fabrizio, a Ferrari engineer says that it is capable of improving the 15.8mpg fuel consumption and reducing the 415g/km carbon dioxide emissions by up to a third in each case.
It would also monumentally expensive (with the emphasis on mentally!), almost doubling the £207,075 list price of the 205mph 599 GTB Fiorano, and adding 220lb of unsprung weight. Ferrari wants to have the system in production within five years at a far more affordable price and a lighter weight.
Wouldn't say no - but it seems a bit of a half way house and sure to add a ton of weight which is never good!
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