  A simple model of chemical enrichment in cluster early-type galaxies is
presented where the main parameters driving the formation of the stellar
component are reduced to four: infall timescale (tf), formation epoch (zF),
star formation efficiency (Ceff) and fraction of gas ejected in outflows
(Bout). We find that only variations in Bout or Ceff can account for the
colour-magnitude relation, so that the most luminous galaxies had low values of
ejected gas and high efficiencies. The combination of chemical enrichment
tracks with population synthesis models is used to explore the correlation
between mass-to-light ratios and masses. A significant slope mismatch is found
between stellar and total M/L ratios, which cannot be explained by an age
spread and implies a non-linear correlation between total and stellar mass. The
sequences driven by star formation efficiency and outflows are shown to predict
different trends at high redshift. Measurement of the dependence of the tilt of
the fundamental plane on redshift will break the degeneracy between outflows
and star formation efficiency, which will enable us to determine whether the
colour-magnitude relation is controlled by age or metallicity.
