Ghastly green Ferrari F430

Who approved these stickers on this F430?

(Credit: CNET Networks/Sarah Tew)

The trend among automakers to go green apparently has engulfed Ferrari, as it displayed an F430 affixed with Bio Fuel stickers on the hood and doors at the 2008 Detroit auto show. The company isn't saying anything about it until Monday, but we are willing to go out on a pretty thick limb and say Ferrari modified the F430's engine to run on some mix of ethanol. An engine set up on a stand next to the F430 had green spark plug caps and fuel rails, a color that clashed horribly with the red valve covers, but signals its green intentions. Likewise, the shade of green used on the Bio Fuel stickers affixed to the car was ghastly, and we can't imagine how they got approved for use on a car by such an image-conscious company. Our theory is that someone in the Ferrari chain of command demanded a car with an environmental message, so Ferrari engineers and marketers, horrified at the idea, used the most hideous color of green they could find in passive-aggressive protest. Modifying the engine to run on E85 or some other ethanol mix should only require replacing fuel lines with ones that won't get eaten by the ethanol. The real challenge would be maintaining performance levels, as E85 has a lower energy density than gasoline.

Green spark plug caps clash with red valve covers.

(Credit: CNET Networks/Sarah Tew)

Click here for more 2008 Detroit auto show coverage.