Ferrari 599 GTO - First Official Pictures/Specs

Fastest-ever Ferrari road car gets 670hp V12 and tops 208mph

New pictures and technical information released today reveal the eagerly anticipated Ferrari 599 GTO, due to be unveiled in the flesh at the Beijing motor show later this month.

"The 599 GTO is an extreme V12 berlinetta developed to a specific performance-oriented brief. The 599 GTO is, in fact, the company's fastest ever road car," says Ferrari. "It is an exclusive limited edition special which, rather than being based on the production car, is more closely derived from the 599XX."

The historic GTO badge stands for Gran Turismo Omologata, and has been called back into service to indicate this new model is effectively a fully homologated road-going version of the 599XX - itself purely a track car.

According to Ferrari the new model - which has set a record lap time at the company's Fiorano test track - is reserved for just 599 customers/lucky b******* who will get the chance to experience its awesome accelerative abilities and edge-of-the-envelope electronically-controlled handling.

"The Fiorano lap time provides just one indication of the potential of this car," says Ferrari in its news release today. "Just as significant are the technical specifications - 670hp in a 1495kg car represents a weight-to-power ratio of just 2.23 kg/hp, and ensures a 0-100 km/h acceleration time of just 3.35secs as well as a top speed of over 335 km/h." (Approx. 208mph.)

According to the company, "an innovative approach to chassis development means, for the first time on a production car, buyers will get to sample a handling set-up tuned for a level of responsiveness that is close to the limit and highly sophisticated electronic controls. The result is the almost complete absence of understeer and a truly communicative chassis."

Various new features appear on the car, including the latest, second-generation carbon-ceramic brakes which are lighter and offer better performance, new aerodynamic innovations, such as the wheel doughnuts which increase aerodynamic efficiency as well as improve brake cooling, and a different Michelin tyre set-up with wider front tyres for greater roadholding.

The driver-car interface is also new with the adoption of the Virtual Race Engineer (VRE) which provides the driver with instantaneous information on performance.

In case anyone has forgotten, the revived GTO name calls to mind the 1962 250 GTO which swept the boards in GT racing categories in the 1960s, and the iconic 1984 GTO. The latter which, according to Ferrari at least, "invented the entire modern supercar genre".

In case you're interested in putting your name down for the latest GTO, you're probably too late. We expect Ferrari to tell us the car has sold out when it's launched at Beijing, in spite of a £300k price-ticket which is around £100k more than the basic 599.

For a more detailed technical overview, read the official Ferrari press release
Or check out www.ferrari.com for a 599 GTO video

599 GTO technical specifications

DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT
Length 4710 mm (185.4 in)
Width 1962 mm (77.2 in)
Height 1326 mm (52.2 in)
Wheelbase 2750 mm (108.3 in)
Front track 1701 mm (67.0 in)
Rear track 1618 mm (63.7 in)
Dry weight* 1495 kg (3296 lbs)
Kerb weight* 1605 kg (3538 lbs)
Weight distribution 47% front - 53% rear
Fuel tank capacity 105 litres (27.7 US gal/23.1 UK/gal)
Boot volume 320 litres (11.3 cu ft)

ENGINE
Type V12 - 65°
Bore & stroke 92 x 75.2 mm (3.62 x 2.96 in)
Unitary displacement 499.9 cc (30.51 cu in)
Total displacement 5999 cc (366.08 cu in)
Compression ratio 11.2:1
Maximum power 500 kW (670 CV) at 8250 rpm
Maximum torque 620 Nm (457 lbs/ft) at 6500 rpm

GEARBOX
F1 6-speed + reverse

SUSPENSION
SCM2 - Magnetorheological Supension Control

TYRES
Front 285/30 ZR20''
Rear 315/35 ZR20''

CARBON-CERAMIC BRAKES
Front 398 x 38 mm (15.7 x 1.5 in)
Rear 360 x 32 mm (14.2 x 1.3 in)

ELECTRONIC CONTROLS
CST with F1-Trac Traction and stability control
TPTMS Tyre pressure and temperature monitoring system

PERFORMANCE
Maximum speed over 335 km/h (over 208 mph)
0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) 3.35 sec

FUEL CONSUMPTION
Combined cycle (ECE)* 17.5 l/100 km

CO2 EMISSIONS
Combined cycle (ECE)* 411 g/km
*European version

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