2011 FERRARI 599 GTO

The first ‘XX’ Ferrari was the Enzo-based FXX of 2005. The cars were sold to the company’s preferred customers for track days run by Ferrari Corse Clienti. For owners, it was the ultimate interaction with the legendary Scuderia, a chance to meet the team’s F1 drivers, engineers and technicians. For Ferrari, it was a way of learning how skilled, but non-professional drivers coped with massively powerful sports cars, all within the confines of a safe modern racing circuit.

A new ‘XX’ car was launched at the 2009 Geneva Show. Based on the front-engined 599 GTB, the 599 XX had at its heart an upgraded version of the road car’s 6.0-litre V12, one now producing 720bhp and 506lb-ft torque. Like the older FXX, no more than 30 were built.

But this time Maranello decided that the 599 XX package was so capable – at one time recording the fastest-ever lap of the Nürburgring Nordschleife by a production-based sports car – that it could build, and there would be demand for, a road version. The result was launched in April 2010: the 599 GTO, the third-ever Ferrari to bear that immortal three-letter suffix.

Limited to no more than 599 examples, the new 599 was also the company’s quickest. A test driver lapped the Fiorano circuit in just 1min 42secs, one second faster than an Enzo. The engine was made more tractable for road use, but still turned out just over 660bhp. Enough for 0-62mph in under 3.3 seconds a top speed of 208mph (335km/h).

Every effort went towards saving weight and replicating the 599 FXX’s extraordinary capabilities on the track, yet making the new 599 GTO genuinely usable on the highway. An impressive 100kg was shaved off the road car by the extensive use of all-new components such as a hydroformed exhaust that was ‘blown’ rather than stamped and welded. Thinner glass saved 5.5kg. Despite being wider than before, the forged wheels (and titanium bolts) saved 22kg, while Sabelt carbonfibre racing seats trimmed another 17kg.