Background
Replacing the Ferrari 575M Maranello meant the 599 GTB Fiorano had big boots to fill – but fill them it did.
Named for its engine displacement of 5,999cc, the latter part of its name is derived from the Fiorano test track Ferrari uses to hone its cars, with the middle part coming about because it was a two-seater, front-engined Grand Turismo Berlinetta of the Old School.
Styled by Pininfarina, the emphasis was on the car’s aerodynamics, which give the 599 a slippery, distinctive look that includes XJS-style buttresses that channel air across the rear of the car so effectively it needs nothing more than a modest rear nolder rather than the massive rear spoiler you might have expected.
Not that emotions were neglected in favour of raw logic because smaller details, such as the ducts that channeled cold air to the front brake discs, and the vents behind the front heels that extracted hot air out of the engine bay, were clearly inspired by the great competizione Ferraris of the past.
It deploys its 612bhp and 448lb.ft of torque – figures that made it the most powerful series-production Ferrari of the period – to the rear wheels via either a six-speed ‘F1 Superfast’ automated manual or a six-speed manual gearbox, with the former outnumbering the latter by many multiples: It is thought that only 30 manual cars were built; ten for Europe, with the rest going to the United States where they presumably baffled the Yanks.
Traction control was via a new system dubbed ‘F1-Trac’, a feature that helps the 599 streak past 62mph in 3.7 seconds on its way to a top speed in excess of 200mph.
The rest of the vehicle is every bit as clever and includes an all-aluminium chassis that is considerably stiffer than the tubular steel chassis of the car it replaced, and while F1 had long banned active suspension, the 599 came equipped with SCM magnetorheological 'semi-active' dampers.
