PHOTOGRAPHY STUART PRICE
Drive | Ferrari 599XX
T
heoretically, the new $1.9m Ferrari 599XX could be regarded as the greatest four-wheel folly ever. After all, this is a car that will never be raced, must never be driven on the road and will be produced by Ferrari in such small numbers that you will almost certainly never see one in the metal. Just 29 examples will be
built over the next two years, assuming Ferrari can actually find that number of people to write a cheque for $1.5m plus local taxes. However, to discard the 599XX as folly would be to miss the point of it entirely. Because in reality, this car is a living, breathing test bed for the myriad technology that’s under development at Ferrari right now. ◊
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ions ‘ You get two free track test sess the and full technical back-up. But wn’ car itself is priceless, all on its o
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The 599XX has 12 per cent more downforce than a GTB Fiorano but 15 per cent less drag; it is more than 30 per cent more efficient overall aerodynamically. That’s thanks to its diffuser, various spoilers and winglets and, of course, a fan system mounted in the boot. This new set-up, admits Ferrari, is a close copy of the one used on the famous Brabham BT46B F1 “fan car” that was banned from F1 in 1978.
∆ Consider it more as an R&D programme that is taking place, not behind closed doors as is usually the case, but in public, for all of us to watch and marvel over. Consider it, if you like, as a piercingly clear indication of what Ferrari is capable of technically, both today and in years to come. How far does it go in its quest to nudge the boundaries of possibility for future road car development? About as far as you can imagine, and then twice as far again. Of all the many facts and achievements boasted by the amazing 599XX, there is one statistic that stands out. It is utterly outrageous, and it is this: the 599XX can complete one lap of Ferrari’s test track at Fiorano a full 10 seconds faster than an Enzo. Given that the XX is, in theory, a regular front-engined, rear-drive GT car and not a mid-engined supercar like the Enzo, that is a mind-boggling feat. Okay, so the 599XX runs on full Michelin racing slicks, whereas the Enzo uses regular road tyres; that probably accounts for about four of those 10
seconds. The remaining six, however, come from a broad combination of areas: extra power, less weight, an improved aero package, a quite extraordinarily advanced braking system and raft of dazzling new electronic driver aids. If the net result sounds more F1 than it does M25, that’s largely because it is. The XX contains more F1 technology than just about any other car that’s turned a wheel outside a Formula One paddock. In light of which, the knowledge that its V12 engine has been “super polished” inside and fitted with a new titanium exhaust on the outside to increase its power to a thumping 720bhp at 9000rpm, well, it almost seems like a side issue in the overall context. As do the facts that torque has risen to 685Nm at 6500rpm and weight has dropped to a mere 1430kg. Because what defines the 599XX as something entirely separate from, and above, any regular production Ferrari is not its engine, its savage performance or even its new carbon-ceramic brakes, complete with their drag-reducing slats
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Ferrari 599XX | Drive
dRiveR Aids
The 599XX contains two so-called manettino switches, one with nine different traction control settings, another with three different suspension settings. At the moment two manettinos are regarded as one too many for road car use, but Ferrari says this may change as we become ever more integrated with such technology in the future. For the time being, five different TC settings are all you’ll get on the firm’s road cars.
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Known inside Ferrari as “donuts”, these are straight from F1, but unlike in an F1 dRiveR Aids car they behind the and The appear 599XX contains twowheel so-called sit directly beside the carbon-ceramic manettino switches, one with nine disc.different If they sattraction outsidecontrol the wheel they’d settings, increase drag.with Thethree XX’s new ferrous-iron another different brakesuspension pads will almost certainly appear settings. At the moment on future productionare Ferraris. Theyas one two manettinos regarded improve feel and when used too many forresponse road car use, but Ferrari with says carbon-ceramic discs.as we become this may change ever more integrated with such technology in the future. For the time being, five different TC settings are all you’ll get on the firm’s road cars.
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Although the XX uses the same gearbox hardware as a regular 599 GTB, the software has been rewritten to produce slightly faster upshifts and much quicker downshifts. It will also change down to whatever gear it thinks you need with just one pull on the paddle. So going from sixth to second on a long straight into a hairpin, you pull the lever once and it will perform four super-fast downshifts as you are braking. Nice.
Known inside Ferrari as ‘donuts’, these are straight from F1, but unlike in an F1 car they appear behind the wheel and sit directly beside the carbon-ceramic disc. If they sat outside the wheel they’d increase drag. The XX’s new ferrousiron brake pads will almost certainly appear on future production Ferraris. They improve feel and response when used with carbon-ceramic discs.
(known internally as donuts). Rather, it is its incredible new electronic driver aids and its futuristic aero package, both of which work in harmony to make the car so ferociously rapid. Take the new aerodynamics. We are not just talking about a few extra wings and skirts here and there. In the 599XX’s boot there is a pair of fans that actively suck air up and away from the rear diffuser at a critical point, between 50km/h and 250km/h. This air is then channelled towards the smallish rear wing, and this creates extra downforce without also creating extra drag. Then Ferrari worked out that air flowing away from the car (via where the tail-lights normally sit on a 599 GTB) was also creating drag and reducing downforce. So it engineered in a tiny set of air jet pumps that send pulses through the air as it flows through the light clusters, smoothing the flow of air behind the car. The result? Less drag, more downforce, faster car. And then there are the driver aids – the new twin manettino switches that
sit in the centre of the dashboard, not on the steering wheel; that was deemed an inappropriate position for such a complex piece of equipment. One has nine different traction control settings, another has three different magnetic suspension settings. The difference with the XX is that the electronics aren’t designed to cocoon the driver in a safety net. They are performance parts, there to make the driver as fast as possible. Switch them off and you will not be able to lap as fast as you can with them on, not even if your name is Fernando Alonso. You might just be able to match the system for a couple of corners, perhaps, but over an entire lap the electronics will win every time. And that’s why the XX is half a second quicker around Fiorano with the system engaged, even in the hands of Ferrari’s most skilful test driver. On all of Ferrari’s road cars it’s the other way round: electronics off, faster lap time. So what’s it like to drive a $1.9m, 720bhp, 1430kg Ferrari 599 that has almost as much downforce as a Le Mans ◊
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Another new dashboard data system that’s designed to allow the driver to get the most out of the car. When the various components are at their optimum operating temperature the screen glows green; when they are too cool it glows blue, too hot and it turns to red. It also contains detailed data on optimum corner speeds and braking points so that the driver knows where he can improve, relative to Ferrari’s test drivers.
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Drive | Ferrari 599XX
‘ The electronics aren’t there to cocoon the driver in a safety net. They’re there to make the driver as fast as possible’
sutters gets ready to trust drifts judged by computing power
Vitals
Price 0-100km/h Top speed Kerb weight Wheelbase Fuel tank
engine
Engine layout Installation
at each corner
power planted
Suspension
feRRARi 599XX $1.9m (est) 2.9sec 315km/h (limited by gearing) 1430kg 2750mm 86 litres
V12, 5999cc, petrol Front, longitudinal, rear-wheel drive 720bhp at 9000rpm Power 685Nm at 6500rpm Torque Power to weight 504bhp per tonne 120bhp per litre Specific output Compression ratio 11.9:1 6-speed robotised manual Gearbox
Brakes Wheels Tyres
Double wishbones, coil springs, magnetic dampers, anti-roll bar (f/r) 398mm (f), 360mm (r) carbon-ceramic discs 19in alloy 305/30x19 (f), 325/35x19 (r) Michelin slicks
AsTOn mARTin One-77 $1.9m Under 3.5sec Over 350km/h Under 1500kg na 100 litres V12, 7300cc, petrol Front, longitudinal, rear-wheel drive 750bhp at 7750rpm 718Nm at 5500rpm 500bhp per tonne (est) 81bhp per litre na 6-speed robotised manual Double wishbones, coil springs, anti-roll bar (f/r) Carbon ceramic discs (f/r) 20in alloy 20in Pirelli P-Zero Corsa (f/r)
∆ racer plus the driver aids of a 2007-spec F1 car? Very exciting and unbelievably nerve-wracking when there’s a pit lane of onlookers wearing scarlet overalls but, curiously, nowhere near as scary as it sounds. And that’s just how Ferrari wants the XX to feel for its intended audience. It should be hugely dramatic, very loud and mind-numbingly fast, but not remotely intimidating. Quite the opposite, in fact. Inside, it feels half road car, half racer, with a vice-like bucket seat to hold you in position but also a reasonably wellfinished feel to the door bins and dash, which contains another new feature called Virtual Race Engineer. This consists of a big digital screen where the instruments would normally sit, featuring five different menus to scroll through, all of which are intended to help you get the most out of the car. In a straight line the XX feels, and sounds, almost impossibly fast. In third gear it picks up so cleanly and so quickly that you need to concentrate hard not to hit the rev limiter. You don’t bother with first or second once up and running, because they’re gone in such a blur. But it’s the chassis and its various aero and electronic aids that make the XX feel so other-worldly to drive. The way you can throw the thing at a corner and then let the electronics guide you through, without ever feeling as if you are being intruded upon, is astonishing. You aim it, basically, and the XX goes, with maybe just a hint of understeer in tight corners
but feeling neutral for the rest of the time. Once you reach the middle of a corner you can open up the throttle 100 per cent and simply wait for the system to decide when there’s enough traction to actually deliver full throttle. By monitoring the yaw and slip angles, alongside various other dynamic aspects, the XX will gradually give you more power, but only when it knows it is capable of placing that power on the road. And then, presto, you exit the corner perfectly, with precisely the right amount of adhesion. Get used to the way it works and you can dial down the level of assistance and perform perfect drifts – not the big, dramatic ones that photographers like, but the small, efficient ones that stopwatches prefer – with none of the terror normally associated with throwing a 720bhp car sideways. It really is an other-worldly driving experience, one that a few lucky people are going to enjoy on a level that’s never been available before. Not outside of a Formula One car. And if you think the price still sounds a bit steep, bear in mind that Ferrari will throw in two free track test sessions per year with the asking price, complete with full technical back-up, plus a ticket to its end-of-year bash. And you get to become a Ferrari development driver as well. To be honest, though, the car itself, and the driving experience it offers, is priceless all on its own. The other stuff is just a bonus. Some bonus. Some car. L
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