Ferrari has undoubtedly made some of the best cars on this planet. With grueling, manly V12s that seep with power and torque to high revving V8s that chill your blood, Ferrari certainly has a large amount of models to choose from to captivate enthusiasts with emotional experiences. What should one expect then, when Ferrari introduces their fastest ever road going car? Spawned from a race version Ferrari, with genetically tuned components that mad scientists created in secret caves, and the largest Ferrari engine to date. (that is, until the FF came along) You can now have the experience of getting punched in the face by Ferrari and you’ll love every bit of it in the 2011 Ferrari 599 GTO.
Not to get confused with the current model 599 GTB Fiorano, the 599 GTO is essentially an enhanced version of the GTB Fiorano and a tamed version of the 599XX. This is the kind of hybrid we should be talking about, one with the foundation of a soulful racing beast and the demeanor and presentation of a Ferrari Grand Tourer. Did someone mention gas mileage? Nope, don’t think anyone cares about that when you’re going to fly from 0 to 60 mph in 3.35 seconds on to a top speed 208 mph.
That’s great says Cletus from Alabama, “My Mustang does 9 second ΒΌ mile runs,” but what he doesn’t tell you is that if you take it around a corner it’ll roll over faster than a Ford Explorer with Firestone tires on it. That’s where the 599 GTO will make you cry once you realize that it laps Ferrari’s Fiorano race track in 1 minute and 24 seconds, 1 second faster than the legendary Ferrari Enzo.
The immense amount of information and engineering time spent around the 599XX has allowed Ferrari to create the GTO, which stands for Grand Tourer Omologato. In Italian that means that this 599 has been Homogolated, or essentially accredited and officially transformed from the racing spec 599XX. In other words, the very blood and organs of the 599XX superbeast run rampant throughout the 599 GTO, yet it meets the requirements to be street legal. With a front-mounted V12 that displaces 5999 ccs or 5.99 liters, the 599 GTO squeezes out 661 horsepower at 8250 RPM and 460 lb-ft of torque at 6500 RPM. Paired to Ferrari’s F1 transmission with similar characteristics as the 599XX, the 599 GTO can shift gears in as little as 60 milliseconds, barely enough time for you to squeeze a quiet one out.
Unlike Cletus’ drag Mustang, the 599 GTO’s chassis setup is critical to track handling performance. Ferrari claims to have pushed the “handling limit” on the 599 GTO, paired to electronic stability controls and something called a magnetorheological suspension control system, where as a result, understeer has basically been eliminated. The car’s responsiveness and lap times are thus attributed to the incredible amount of engineering conducted around the vehicle dynamics. Improved suspension, springs, roll-bars, traction control and brakes ultimately lead to greater responsiveness from the driver. Stable under heavy braking, sharper turn-ins, quicker cornering and of course, greater power coming out of corners are all very great reasons to start unbuttoning your wallet straps.
Also akin to homogolation of a racing spec is to reduce weight in the road legal version. Rather than take out the comfortable leather seats and put in plastic chairs like Porsche, Ferrari decided to exchange a widespread number of trinkets and components with racing spec variants. Slight tweaks such as using thinner grade aluminium 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 lbs), 193 kg (425 lbs) lighter than the GTOs fatter and slower brother, the 1,688 kg (3,721 lbs) GTB Fiorano.
Only 599 production units will be built and will sell for an MSRP of $426,843, roughly $116,300 more than the GTB Fiorano’s sale price of $310,543. That seems expensive, but considering the aforementioned car and the fact that the GTO is a Ferrari, it’s really quite a bargain. Think about it, half the price of the rare and expensive Enzo, better looking than Pierce Brosnan’s face, and spawned from the 599XX racing menace. There’s no better way to consider the 599 GTO than to call it exactly what Ferrari calls it, their “fastest-ever road going Ferrari.”
