The lush green hills and sea of blooms let it be known that springtime has arrived — albeit exceptionally late — in northern Italy's Emilia-Romagna.
It is only a few weeks since the last snows fell on higher ground. Unheard of, the locals scratch their heads at what has happened to the climate in this most temperate of lands.
From the way they talk, one suspects that they aren't only thinking about their crops. With one eye on their land, the farmers have waited for the change from winter because nothing other than a vista of transforming fields, bright flowers and crisp sunlight could possibly provide a better backdrop fora new V12 berlinetta.
The peasants might have a closer affinity with their tractors, but here in Emilia-Romagna, they appreciate the machinery of the region's most famous son, Enzo Ferrari.
Like father, like son
The 599 GTO just might be one of the most extreme cars ever built — if not simply the most extreme. The fastest-ever road car to hail from Maranello, it owes its existence to a combination of the 599 GTB Fiorano, from which it takes much of its looks, and the 599XX experimental track concept, on which it builds. It is an exclusive limited edition with only 599 units to be built.
The GTO is a name with huge significance in Ferrari history, having been adopted in 1962 for the 250 GTO, long considered to be the finest Ferrari ever built. It was later revived for the 1984 288 GTO, widely credited with having invented the modern supercar concept. As the ‘O' suggests, this is a car that has been homologated — omologato in Italian — for the track, but this GTO is also very much a road car that performs beautifully through the winding roads of northern Italy.
To create a car that will go around Ferrari's Fiorano test track in a record-setting 1 minute, 24 seconds, the Scuderia made some massive developments. To then hone its raw power and aggression into something that can safely be taken off the track without losing this performance was the greatest challenge. The Ferrari engineers clearly rose to the challenge.
The GTO has an unprecedented weight-to-power ratio, achieved thanks to new materials and technologies that have slashed 100kg from the overall total. It also boasts an aerodynamic package that doubles the downforce of the 599 GTB Fiorano. The latest generation carbon-ceramic brakesare completely new and the F1-inspired electronic control systems were an integral part of the chassis development from the very start of the project to make the GTO exceptionally responsiveand involving.
With a 6.0-litre V12 engine pumping out a maximum of 661 bhp at 8,250rpm, the net result is a remarkable specific output of 110bhp/litre and a weight-power ratio of just 2.23kg/bhp.
It offers a constant crescendo all the way up to the rev limiter, with torque peaking at 620Nm from 6,500rpm. It is, however, tremendously flexible, the pulling power going all the way from low revs through to the red line.
This flexibility has been achieved thanks to development work on the engine's fluid dynamics and component friction losses, which have been reduced by 12 per cent compared with a traditional 12-cylinder unit. The intake system features a new manifold with diffuser-type intake geometry and short inlet tracts designed to improve power delivery at high revs and reduce losses.
The dynamic characteristics of the GTO, inherited from the XX, give the new berlinetta its own personality, with a steering angle reduced by 15 per cent and response times cut by one fifth. Much work too has been done to vehicle control systems, the engineers having integrated development of the second-generation magnetorheological suspension control (SCM2), ESP and F1-Trac systems together.
SCM2 uses a fluid that reacts with an electronically controlled magnetic field generated inside the damper to change its viscosity. Thanks to new accelerometers and a different ECU, the control software adjusts the intensity of the magnetic field every millisecond, meaning that the SCM2 reads the road surface instantaneously. The F1-Trac, meanwhile, now estimates grip across a broader range of frequencies.
The overall effect of this is sharper turn-in into bends and a more accurate line through corners, with the SCM2 quickly distributing damping between front and rear axles while the ESP acts independently on all four wheels. One of the most obvious traits this car displays is a near inability to understeer, even on challenging, winding roads.
Alongside increased power and performance, a great deal of weight has been shaved off left, right and centre. A whole 48kg is removed from the car's mechanicals through new materials, such as the carbon-ceramic brakes, which are lighter yet much more efficient than the previous generation set. The external body loses 31kg, through more carbon fibre and composite materials, while the interior sheds 33kg — the new racing seats alone are 17kg lighter.
Not everything has been reduced, though, as sound filtering through to the cockpit is now eight decibels louder, and is clear and powerful regardless of engine speed or driving conditions. The exhaust, with a new six-into-one manifold, produces a potent howl, while the silencer assembly retains a thrilling 12-cylinder soundtrack.
This aural accompaniment is crystal clear, both on country lanes and on the circuit. The GTO was developed for the track but mastered for the road. It is interesting to see how much of the race-bred attitude it can manage to smuggle through the road-legal homologation process.
The answer is a great deal. Indeed, there are some aspects of an all-out racer that cannot be translated to the road, but the way that Ferrari has defined the car's dynamics and refined the braking has resulted in a car capable of 335kph that feels as safe as a Volvo — hardly anodyne, of course, but still tremendously secure.
Sat high and faced with a steering wheel that is well above the knees, the driving position is extremely un-Italian and exceptionally comfortable. The seats might be made from a "technical fibre", but they are snug, supportive and stop any sliding. In spite of the stripped out dash, the usual leather replaced by swaths of carbon fibre as a background to a sea of knobs, knockers and rockers, there is still a sense of the quality and opulence that befits a Ferrari.
For a berlinetta, there is still plenty to see, and visibility is good all round. While it is very light on its feet, nimble and comfortable to drive around town, it would be silly to suggest that the GTO is perfect for your supermarket run. Obviously the boot space — measured more in terms of golf clubs than the traditional golf bag — would put an end to that.
Driven like a grand tourer on the unkempt country roads of Emilia-Romagna, this car behaves impeccably. The formidably quick gear changes — 60ms on the upshift, 120ms on the downshift — really do allow the driver to time his corner entrances and departures to perfection while the hi-tech damping comes into its own around hairpins. It is virtually impossible to lose control of the GTO, which is remarkable when you bear in mind its sheer capability.
Fiorano fire
Which brings us to the track on which it was recently clocked doing the fastest-ever road car lap time. In contrast to the beauty of the surrounding countryside, Fiorano is a concrete bowl that is practical and uncompromising. If you can successfully tackle the high-speed straights and tight corners, you will feel the unbridled ability of the GTO.
You can tell this car is at home at Fiorano, its hot Ferrari blood pulsing through automotive veins. You brake hard from over 200kph into the first corner; the carbon-ceramic brakes work hard and surprise with their smoothness. Only taking a hard right through a complex section of track, now at high speed and with less precision than a test driver, do you feel any understeer. This is reassuring as, while the GTO can have impeccable manners, it is easy to forget that it is also the fastest car Ferrari has produced and at times it can act that way.
Verdict
While taking a track car and adapting it for the road is usually destined to fall flat, the most unbelievable aspect of this car is the way that Ferrari has managed to give it a Jekyll and Hyde pair of personalities.
It is like the engineers have crammed two cars into the one shell, rather than sucking out all the best bits for the sake of safety.
As spring has now arrived for the farmers, so too the long wait has ended for the perfect track car that you can drive home, and then some.
While many thought the 599XX was a pie-in-the-sky racing concept, Ferrari has shown that its practical application can be done without compromise.
SPECS AND RATING
Model 599 GTO
Engine 6.0-litre V12 Transmission Six-speed RWD
Max power 661bhp @ 8,250rpm
Max torque 620Nm @ 6,500rpm
Top speed 335kph
0-100kph 3.35sec
Price Dh1,361,570
Plus So intimidating at first, yet so user-friendly, great engine and gearbox
Minus Too spartan for some
