By Richard Aucock | |
| 03 March 2009 11:06:09 | |
Ferrari’s super new 599 at Geneva
Ferrari has taken the covers off a mobile laboratory here at Geneva – exclusively for the super-rich! The Laboratorio Tecnologico 599XX is a special version of the 599, showcasing the company’s ongoing research programmes.
Just 30 lucky customers will get into this Ferrari and they won't just be anyone.
GALLERY: Watch the Ferrari 599 in pictures
F1 technology
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Click images to enlarge |
You'll need the aptitude to take part as a "Client Test Driver" and feedback your opinion on your car and the way it performs, at one of half a dozen bespoke track days. Ferrari wants F599XX customers to help develop new technology for future road cars. Not that you will be able to drive it on the road, for this is the ultimate track day-only machine.
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700hp at 9,000rpm from the V12, a whole host of technology first seen in the F430 Scuderia and incredible active aerodynamics. There are even fans in the boot that channel air from under the car and out through two grilles by the tail lights. Coupled to the winglets by the rear windows, this Ferrari develops 630kg of downforce at 186mph, four times that of the regular F599.
This is the beauty – and relevance – of small supercar makers such as Ferrari. Because there is less need to make future technology economically viable, they can bring out features that have significant ecological gains far more quickly than mass-market makers such as Ford or Volkswagen.
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It means that supercar drivers are, in one sense, actually driving the cars of the future! We’ve seen it in the past, with lightweight materials, paddle-shift gearboxes and emissions-reducing direct fuel injection. The Laboratorio Tecnologico 599XX is the next step along the development of the automobile. If you are rich enough (€1.1 million), of the right Passion and integrity as a person, and can get out to the Geneva show quickly enough, you may just get one of the 30 cars to be built.
But if you are simply normally wealthy you can get into a new package Ferrari is offering for the 599GTB Fiorano. The ‘Handling GTE Package’ is a series of chassis upgrades, that enhance the abilities of a car developed, remember, by Michael Schumacher. The objective, says Ferrari at the Geneva show, is to offer tighter, more dynamic handling with sharper cornering and improved responsiveness. Given the standard car’s brilliance, we can’t wait to get behind the wheel of this beauty.
Needless to say, last year’s F1 car is also on proud display. Thing is, so advanced is the Laboratorio Tecnologico 599XX, it makes even this title-winning machine seem just a little dated and old-hat now…
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Geneva Motor Show 2009 - your vote
- Which car unveiled at Geneva would you most like to see on your driveway?
- Aston Martin One-77
33% - Audi TT RS
6% - Bentley Supersports
5% - BMW 5 Series GT
4% - Ferrari 599XX
10% - Fiat 500 Cabriolet
2% - Lamborghini LP670-4SV
18% - Lexus RX450h
2% - Mazda 3 MPS
1% - New Mercedes-Benz E-Class
4% - Porsche 911 GT3
5% - Rolls-Royce 200EX
4% - Saab 93X
1% - Skoda Yeti
2% - Volkswagen Polo
3%
- Aston Martin One-77
