Without a doubt, Ferrari has made some of the best cars on this planet. With grueling, manly V12s delivering power and torque to blood-chilling, high-revving V8s, Ferrari certainly has a plethora of models to choose from to captivate enthusiasts with emotional experiences. What should one expect then, when Ferrari unveils its fastest road car? Spawned from a racing version of a Ferrari, with genetically modified components that mad scientists created in secret caves, and the largest Ferrari engine to date. (that is, until the FF came along) Now you can experience getting punched in the face by Ferrari and love everything about the 2011 Ferrari 599 GTO.
Not to be confused with the current model 599 GTB Fiorano, the 599 GTO is essentially an upgraded version of the GTB Fiorano and a domesticated version of the 599XX. This is the kind of hybrid we should be talking about, one with the underpinnings of a soulful racing beast and the demeanor and presentation of a Ferrari Grand Tourer. Did someone mention gas mileage? No, don’t think anyone cares about that when you’re going to fly from 0 to 60 mph in 3.35 seconds at a top speed of 208 mph.
That’s great, says Cletus from Alabama: “My Mustang does ΒΌ mile runs in 9 seconds,” but what it doesn’t tell you is that if you take it around a corner, it will roll over faster than a Ford Explorer with Firestone tires. . That’s where the 599 GTO will make you cry once you realize it laps Ferrari’s Fiorano race track in 1 minute 24 seconds, 1 second faster than the legendary Ferrari Enzo.
The immense amount of information and engineering time put into the 599XX has allowed Ferrari to create the GTO, which stands for Grand Tourer Omologato. In Italian, that means this 599 has been homologated, or essentially accredited and officially converted from the 599XX racing spec. In other words, the blood and organs of the 599XX superbeast run rampant throughout the 599 GTO, but it meets the requirements to be street legal. With a front-mounted V12 displacing 5,999 cc or 5.99 liters, the 599 GTO generates 661 horsepower at 8,250 RPM and 460 lb-ft of torque at 6,500 RPM. Paired with Ferrari’s F1 transmission with similar features to the 599XX, the 599 GTO can change gears in as little as 60 milliseconds, barely long enough for you to do a quiet ride.
Unlike Cletus’ Mustang drag, the 599 GTO’s chassis setup is critical to track handling performance. Ferrari claims to have pushed the “handling limit” on the 599 GTO, combined with electronic stability controls and something called a magnetorheological suspension control system, where understeer has basically been eliminated as a result. The car’s responsiveness and lap times are attributed to the incredible amount of engineering put into the vehicle’s dynamics. Improved suspension, springs, anti-roll bars, traction control and brakes ultimately lead to more responsiveness from the driver. Stable under heavy braking, sharper cornering, faster cornering, and of course increased cornering power are all very good reasons to start unbuckling your wallet straps.
Also similar to homologating a race spec is reducing the weight on the road legal version. Instead of ditching the comfortable leather seats and putting in plastic chairs like Porsche, Ferrari decided to swap out a host of trinkets and components with racing-spec variants. Slight adjustments, such as the use of thinner grade aluminum panels or thinner glass components. These minor adjustments throughout the car have contributed to a total dry curb weight of 1,495 kg (3,296 lb), 193 kg (425 lb) lighter than the GTO’s fatter, slower sibling, the 1688 GTB Fiorano. kg (3721 lbs).
Only 599 production units will be built and will sell for an MSRP of $426,843, approximately $116,300 more than the GTB Fiorano’s asking price of $310,543. That sounds expensive, but considering the aforementioned car and the fact that the GTO is a Ferrari, it really is a bargain. Think about it, half the price of the rare and expensive Enzo, handsomer than Pierce Brosnan’s visage and spawned from the menace of 599XX racing. There’s no better way to think of the 599 GTO than to call it exactly what Ferrari calls it, their “fastest road Ferrari.”