Ferrari California HELE Prototype Unveiled at Paris Auto Salon

An exotic automaker like Ferrari may be more about performance than environmental friendliness, but that doesn't mean the famed Prancing Horse marque is immune to the tides. In order to preserve its "way of life" – in other words, continue to produce the kind of physics-defying performance machines for which they've become known – Ferrari has been working on a number of ways to reduce its environmental impact. The latest is the HELE system incorporated into this California roadster which it unveiled (alongside the limited-production SA Aperta) at the Paris Auto Salon.

Standing for High Emotion Low Emissions, the HELE system incorporates a new generation of start/stop engine management, an intelligent engine fan, advanced fuel pump control, electronically variable climate-control system and precisely timed adaptive gear shift algorithms to reduce emissions by 23 percent without sacrificing performance. Although the system has yet to be announced for production, it points the way forward for a company trying to balance its environmental responsibilities with its own performance benchmarks.