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| Ferrari 599XX 2010 |
No manufacturer of premium sports cars has a more direct relationship to its racing programs and successes than Ferrari. Although factory-based F1 and sports car competition have always been at the core of this relationship, Ferrari has also consistently engaged customers over the years in various ways, whether as team owners or racing privateers. Racing customers have always provided a good sounding board for development of the company’s numerous production-based competition cars, including some of the most legendary vintage sports racers, barchettas, berlinettas, and spiders.
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| Ferrari 599XX 2010 |
Even within the realm of Ferrari supercars, few claim such a unique design brief as the 599XX. The 599XX was introduced in 2009 and was based on Ferrari’s stellar 599 GTB Fiorano. Its purpose was to push the envelope of road and racing technology to keep Ferrari atop the sports car world in terms of performance. Thus, whilst it bears the silhouette of the standard 599, the 599XX is a much more savage beast.
So extreme was the engineering of airflow and downforce on the 599XX that two fans were installed in the boot to draw air from the undertray and funnel it through the former tail lamp valances.
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| Ferrari 599XX 2010 |
Functional vents and scoops decorate almost every panel of the car, instantly clarifying the degree of wind tunnel development that went into the model. Its suspension engineering was particularly astonishing, as it had state-of-the-art SCM Magnetoreological damping that contributed to traction control, which was adjustable via a dash-mounted “manetinno” that offered nine different graduated settings.
The engine was powered by a highly modified version of the 599 GTB’s six-litre V-12, and it generated 730 horsepower and 506 foot-pounds of torque, which was enough to catapult the car from 0–60 mph in just 2.9 seconds. In addition to upgrades like mechanical tappets and graphite-coated pistons, Ferrari implemented a particularly unusual addition for a race-prepared motor. The company guaranteed the engine for at least 5,000 kilometres, almost daring customers to try to blow them out during track events.
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| Ferrari 599XX 2010 |
From within, there is no doubt that this is a competition-oriented vehicle, as it has been outfitted with a roll cage and a single carbon-fibre dash panel, which dominates the spartan cockpit. Whilst nearly all other amenities are stripped away, the 599XX is outfitted with air conditioning, serving as a reminder that this car is meant to be enjoyed by customers just as much as it is to be strenuously raced; this is a concept that was also reinforced by the model’s somewhat unusual production mandate.
Referring to the 599XX, Ferrari test driver Raffaele De Simone said, “We were pleased that this car turned out to be far more drivable than the Enzo FXX”. Indeed, the 599 derivative matched the Enzo FXX’s lap times at the Fiorano test track. Ferrari even sent an example to the Nürburgring, where, on 21 April 2010, Raffaele de Simone achieved an astonishing lap time of 6:58:16, breaking the lap record and proving to be even faster than the Enzo (7:25:7). This time is comparable to the lap time realised by Niki Lauda in the 312 Formula One car, when he gained the pole during the qualification race at the German Grand Prix on 2 August 1975. Rarely has a production-based track car been built that so comprehensively utilises every available technology for optimal performance.
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| Ferrari 599XX 2010 |
The 599XX was manufactured in a sparing quantity of just 29 examples, and it was intended to be driven at track events under Ferrari’s Corse Clienti program, a specialised program of non-competitive events held around the world. Alongside Ferrari’s FXX, the 599XX was intended to help Ferrari conduct research and make developments based on the “owner-test drivers” results at specially sanctioned events that were organised by the Scuderia at race tracks around the world. Ferrari will provide owners with all the support required in maintaining such a car, and they will also provide owners with feedback on their driving technique and data that has been collected from the car. Whilst Corse Clienti events take place on three continents, 599XX owners can opt to leave their cars in Ferrari’s custody in Maranello, where Ferrari will service and maintain the car to race-ready condition and prepare it for delivery to each event by Ferrari’s own transportation. Owners can also drive their cars in private sessions on various tracks.
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| Ferrari 599XX 2010 |
Wearing number 17, this sensational 599XX has accumulated just 600 kilometres on its odometer, from factory testing and one outing at the Circuit Paul Ricard. All factory spares delivered with the car are present, and it remains ready for more track use.
Chassis 170354 also remains eligible for the optional Evoluzione upgrade from the factory. The Evoluzione package was introduced in December 2011, for the 2012–2013 racing seasons, and it offered a plethora of performance upgrades, which were the result of feedback from the first generation of 599XX owners and experiences within Formula One. The biggest changes to the 599XX dealt with the car’s aerodynamics. The Evoluzione package includes an electronically adjustable rear wing, a modified front splitter, a new rear diffuser, and recalibrated electronic controls; these all function in an effort to help the car perform better through corners. Overall horsepower and torque would be increased to 750 and 516 foot-pounds with the addition of side exhausts. Coupled with the added power and a shorter final gear ratio, the 599XX EVO can lap Fiorano in 1:15.
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