Which pollutes the most: a 1.5-liter Volkswagen Golf or a Ferrari 812 GTS with a 12-cylinder engine?
Most people would say the Ferrari, but the correct answer is more nuanced, according to the Italian sportscar manufacturer. Its boss, Louis Camilleri, says it depends on how much you drive it.
During an investor call last week, Camilleri took issue with European environmental regulations that aim to cut transport emissions by penalizing the sale of vehicles with particularly thirsty engines. "If you take a V12 Ferrari that only runs 3,000 kilometers a year, probably it has less emissions than a very small car that runs every day,” he said. The car industry needs to do a better job of educating regulators, he added.