Ferrari 458 Italia HELE at Geneva

The Ferrari 458 Italia HELE at Geneva

Ferrari are taking an ‘Eco’ 458 to Geneva in the shape of the Ferrari 458 Italia HELE, which reduces CO2 emissions and improves economy.

All the focus has been on the Ferrari FF in the run-up to Geneva. After all, it’s a significant Ferrari sitting at the very top of the Ferrari range. And it’s contentious. A perfect recipe.

Which is very similar to the Paris Motor Show last Autumn where we were all wrapped up with the Ferrari SA APERTA (that’s the 599 roadster, in case you’ve forgotten) and then Ferrari sneaked in an ‘Eco’ California in the shape of the Ferrari California HELE.

And it looks as if Geneva is going to be a repeat of Paris, with all eyes focused on the FF, Ferrari are going to introduce the Eco 458 – the Ferrari 458 Italia HELE.

In case you’ve forgotten, HELE is one of those awful acronyms so beloved of car makers. This one stands for ‘High Emotion – Low Emission’ and is designed to cut emissions and improve economy, which it does by adding stop-start and having a quick fiddle with HVAC control. In the California it reduces fuel consumption by 23% and CO2 by 29g/km.

The reality is that this is all about gaming the official economy/emissions test. Some clever tweaking allows the Ferrari to perform admirably when driven in the style prescribed by the official testing. In the real world we doubt there’s any difference in economy or emissions.

Which is perhaps confirmed by Ferrari choosing not to offer (as far as we’re aware) HELE on the California in the US, which doesn’t have an official test which benefits from the addition of stop-start.

Or maybe we’re just cynics.