Chismillionaire Detroit Auto Show Report- Ferrari 430 BioFuel

You don't often use the words "Ferrari" and "tree hugger" in the same sentence. But the Italian marque seems to be headed in a decidedly green direction with the debut of its Ferrari F430 Spider Biofuel at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show.

The unveiling of the Spider Biofuel was done with very little fanfare, which led some industry observers to question just how dedicated Ferrari is to going green in a big way. Ferrari said it took the wraps off its green prototype "in recognition of growing interest in North America in alternative sources of energy." It said the "ultimate aim" is to cut fuel consumption and emissions on the car by 40 percent by 2012.

Ferrari's green machine shows that the company "can offer the technological solutions the market demands without impinging on the distinctly sporty, high-performance character and supreme driving pleasure of the unique cars it builds at Maranello," it said in a statement.

Ferrari says technical characteristics have remained unchanged with respect to a standard production engine on this prototype. "The use of this type of biofuel and the modifications made have resulted in a significant increase in maximum power output (plus-10 horsepower at the same rpm) and torque (plus-4 percent), yet overall weight was unchanged," the company said in a statement. The Spider Biofuel delivers a 5 percent drop in CO2 emissions, according to the automaker.