Thursday 1st December 2011

Ferrari 599XX evolves

Maranello's extreme track car gets evolutionary tweaks to make it faster and cleverer

---

Ferrari has today revealed an evolution version of its fantastically hardcore 599XX.

Introduced at the Bologna motor show today, the tweaks for the 'extreme, non-homologated sports berlinetta' (that's Ferrari-speak for 'racing car that isn't a racing car but that you also can't use on the road') will be available to 'owners' of the car (which is essentially a research and development programme) for the 2012-2013 season.

Original car was hardly subtle...

For its package of revisions, the 599XX gets an active aerodynamic package integrated with the vehicle's electronic control systems, new Pirelli tyres, an extra 20hp (bringing the total to 750hp), and a 35kg weight-loss programme.

The key to the new aero trickery is something called 'opening gap' technology. This uses two flaps, which rotate electronically to adjust the downforce between the front and rear axles in relation to vehicle speed and the manoeuvre being effected. This active rear wing is governed by various physical parameters, measured by the car's various electronic control functions (ESP, ABS, SCM and F1-Trac).

Clever. Other less exciting changes include a new front splitter and a new rear diffuser. Total downforce at 125mph is boosted to 330kg when the flaps are open and 440kg in the closed configuration.

And that extra engine power? It comes courtesy of new side-exit exhausts.

Combined with a final gear ratio that's slightly shorter, all this amounts to a Fiorano lap time of 1min 15secs - a second faster than an FXX.

 

[lgomgf]

I don't know if I should be excited or bored by this news...

It is a car that I and about 99% of the readers here cannot afford. It is a car I wouldn't be able to take home and drive on the Sundays track days here close to home... for that matter is a car that most of the track days I know would not accept due to noise restriction.

[Dagnut]

lgomgf said:

I don't know if I should be excited or bored by this news...

It is a car that I and about 99% of the readers here cannot afford. It is a car I wouldn't be able to take home and drive on the Sundays track days here close to home... for that matter is a car that most of the track days I know would not accept due to noise restriction.

Your really just buying a Ferrari test mule...but nowadays they can get people to buy them and offset some of the costs

[missing the VR6]

Do existing customers get the upgrade FOC?

[DodoRacing]

Is 599XX is a new name for the FXX?

[rhinochopig]

I don't get this car - or the Enzo FXX - at all. Start from a very very poor starting point for a track only car and then spend millions on making it go fast on the track. I suppose some of the tech will trickle down, but there has to come a point where the specificity required for a track car becomes irrelevant to a road car.

[Mx5guy]

missing the VR6 said:

Do existing customers get the upgrade FOC?

Almost certainly not - they didn't for the FXX when it recived the upgrades.

DodoRacing said:

Is 599XX is a new name for the FXX?

No, it's the next model but with the same justification.

[Ali2202]

Should this not be in the Ferrari/Lamborghini etc. forum?

[Robmarriott]

Other than the tyres, why can't it be used on the road?
Or why can't it be made to use on the road? it appears to have lights, so surely it can be adapted easily?

[The Danimal]

I can't believe the people who can afford these cars are gullible enough to part with their cash. They're obviously clever folks who have earned millions through a business, yet they get tricked into paying for Ferrari development work by buying these pointless follies?... crazy.

[alock]

DodoRacing said:

Is 599XX is a new name for the FXX?

FXX based on Enzo. If you think of the Enzo as the F60, then it explains the 'F'.

599XX based on 599.

[Dagnut]

rhinochopig said:

I don't get this car - or the Enzo FXX - at all. Start from a very very poor starting point for a track only car and then spend millions on making it go fast on the track. I suppose some of the tech will trickle down, but there has to come a point where the specificity required for a track car becomes irrelevant to a road car.

It's cheaper to use an existing platform the car is not going racing so makes perfect sense

[WCZ]

missing the VR6 said:

Do existing customers get the upgrade FOC?

nope and it's not cheap either

[T.K]

If I had pots and pots of money I would be tempted to buy one of these spectacular, if pointless, creations, steal it from whatever lock up Ferrari make you keep it in, and then road register it.

I would then lord it around everywhere and lend it to every magazine who would take the keys. I would do ludicrous things like beat the caravan towing record, partake in doughnut world record attempts and try but fail to best Ultima's 0-100-0 time. I would ensure Katie Price was seen on, around and in the vehicle.

Childish as I am, I would truly enjoy annoying Ferrari. If I paid that much for a car they can butter my arse before they tell me what to do with it!

[Porkie]

Was lucky enough to be at a trackday at the Nurburgring when they were practising with the old one.... THUNDERED past as I was only in a RSR Alfa! v v cool.

[missing the VR6]

WCZ said:

missing the VR6 said:

Do existing customers get the upgrade FOC?

nope and it's not cheap either

Any idea how much?

[offshorematt2]

The Danimal said:

I can't believe the people who can afford these cars are gullible enough to part with their cash. They're obviously clever folks who have earned millions through a business, yet they get tricked into paying for Ferrari development work by buying these pointless follies?... crazy.

From memory the FXX came with a support package, and I presume the 599XX does too? They would run test days at 7 or 8 tracks a year where you could ship your car out and have a limited numbers 'factory supported' trackday on the world's best tracks. I suspect a large part of the appeal is about as getting as close to becoming a Ferrari team driver without actually needing the talent. Plus the bragging rights of owning one of course. In reality to the wealthy few who purchase these cars, the upsides outweigh the relatively small expenditure of buying and tracking the car - not sure they've been tricked in any way?

Or to look at it another way, what do you buy after your garage is full, the super yacht is all fueled up and the monaco crash pad is paid off...

[Invetterate]

T.K said:

If I had pots and pots of money I would be tempted to buy one of these spectacular, if pointless, creations, steal it from whatever lock up Ferrari make you keep it in, and then road register it.

I would then lord it around everywhere and lend it to every magazine who would take the keys. I would do ludicrous things like beat the caravan towing record, partake in doughnut world record attempts and try but fail to best Ultima's 0-100-0 time. I would ensure Katie Price was seen on, around and in the vehicle.

Childish as I am, I would truly enjoy annoying Ferrari. If I paid that much for a car they can butter my arse before they tell me what to do with it!

Brilliant idea! Totally agree with a bit of ego deflation!

[DeadMeat_UK]

Phew. Been wondering what to get for the station run.

[DanB7290]

Pic of the actual car here:
http://www.gtspirit.com/2011/11/16/spy-shots-ferra...

Looks like the front splitter is straight from a NASCAR. Do like the side exit exhaust though, which happens to be another thing from NASCAR. Is Ferrari going all redneck?

[Graebob]

Is the pic in the story from Forza 4?!