Ferrari California HELE Review






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Ferrari California HELE
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Ferrari California HELE
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Ferrari California HELE
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Ferrari California: Can team red go green?
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Ferrari California HELE
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Ferrari California HELE
Yep, they're serious. Those famously fanatical (and precious!) performance types at Ferrari are building greener cars. And of course they have an acronym for it - HELE, which stands for 'High Emotion, Low Emissions'. No, Japanese linguists weren't involved.
What HELE stands for in the 'entry-level' California is a series of energy-saving enhancements designed to reduce CO2 emissions and consumption while making the California a "demonstrably better car by all the traditional Ferrari measures".
What this means for the California's hippie credentials is a sizeable efficiency improvement in several key areas, while actually making it a more driveable car.
The Maranello boffins have hardly re-invented the wheel, but the headline numbers speak for themselves.
The 338kW 4.3-litre V8's combined consumption figure is down from 13.1L/100km to an impressive 11.5, while its urban figure drops from 19.0L/100km to 16.5. The engine produces an additional 25Nm of torque, yet its CO2 emissions have been reduced from 299g/km to 270.
To put that in perspective, even Mercedes-Benz's highly-refined SL500 emits 286g/km, while the Bentley Continental GT belches out 384. Even a petrol Toyota HiAce produces 294g/km.
So what have they done to it? Well, stop/start (the console button which is the only way to tell the HELE car) headlines a bunch of well-thought-out initiatives intended to improve both vehicle and engine efficiency.
There are two start protocols - cold start and quick start (which happens in just 230 milliseconds) - making the California's stop/start system is one of the most perceptive and least annoying on the market. Two-stage cooling fans only run at the speed which they're required, and the fuel pump constantly varies its flow - only pumping the amount to the engine that's required at any given point.
The air-con runs an electronic, not pneumatic, variable-displacement compressor that responds faster and more accurately, and the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission has had its adaptive shift function re-programmed to more effectively use engine torque.
What Ferrari's efficiency measures haven't done is dilute the superb 4.3-litre V8's high-revving nature. There's still that wonderfully loud and anti-social induction/exhaust bark at start-up and glorious top-end wail that Ferrari V8s are renowned for, yet compared to the non-HELE Cali', this car feels significantly torquier.
Get determined with the throttle and the California will still hit 100km/h in 4.0sec, on its way to 310km/h. But it's nice to know you're doing your bit for the environment, however small, even though you'll need to pay an insignificant $2750 to option it.
SPECIFICATIONS
FERRARI CALIFORNIA HELE
ENGINE: 4297cc V8, DOHC, 32v
POWER: 338kW @ 7750rpm
TORQUE: 510Nm @ 5000rpm
WEIGHT: 1735kg
GEARBOX: 7-speed dual-clutch
0-100KM/H: 4.0sec (claimed)
TOP SPEED: 310km/h (claimed)
PRICE: $462,400
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