As you try as hard as you can to hold your line through the Curva Parabolica, a pacey 270 deg corner, two distinct matters occupy your mind. The first is obvious and gruesome: will I make it through in one piece. The revs remain high as the speed needle is edging towards the wrong side of safe. Time slows as you ponder another thought, the long grass making way for the garish, striped colours of the rumble strip. Here, you will either sling back to the racing line or, if you're too badly out of control, lose the last of your grip with terrifying consequences.
You wonder: could the 599 GTO be the best Ferrari ever made? It's certainly the fastest, and at just over Dh1.36 million one of the most expensive. Then, of course, with only 599 made it is among the most exclusive.
It is at home at Ferrari's Fiorano test circuit and is an extension of the 599 XX concept which was the blueprint for racing models. With 3.35-second acceleration and a top speed of 335km/h, it is competitive. But when it comes to breeding a racecar, engineers and designers need to temper raw aggression with stability: you will never claim a trophy if you keep shooting off track.
And as Fiorano's Parabolica flashes by, your guts wrenched and the joy obvious on your face, it becomes clear. While this remains a full-on, hot-blooded car that is capable of breathtaking speeds, even with traction control off it offers a nurturing experience as if it is working in partnership with you, willing you on to win the race. For a fire breather, this car has exceptional manners and charm.
This 599 might possibly be the Scuderia's best, the third in a line of some remarkable GTOs. While its ability can be terrifying, its engineered excellence ensures that it knows what it is doing, even if the driver isn't so sure.
KILLER LOOKS
More than anything else, the impressive GTO is undoubtedly a Ferrari, boasting all the design cues that make the Italian brand so distinctive. Based on the well-known 599 GTB Fiorano, a few changes were made to tailor the aerodynamics so the car doesn't take off at lightning speed. On the whole, however, it would take an eagle eye to differentiate this rarity with the comparatively mass produced, mainstream GTB.
PERFORMANCE
Much of the GTO was taken from the 599 XX, a concept car for the racetrack, and then homologated for road use. Essentially, this makes it a racer first, and then a tourer.
The 6.0-litre V12 engine produces 670 hp with a remarkable weight-to-power ratio thanks largely to draconian measures to reduce weight, such as swapping leather seats for a microfibre equivalent. Having completed the Fiorano test track in just 1:24 seconds, the GTO is the fastest ever Ferrari that is meant for the road.
DRIVE
Ferrari has thrown every innovation it could think of into the GTO to enhance stability, improve handling and create the perfect driver's car. This is not a car for the novice, and would likely prove to be dangerous in the wrong hands, but it still helps the driver every step of the way, not incongruously so but within Ferrari spirit.
VERDICT
If you need to know "quanto", you clearly don't have enough in the "banca", so exclusive and outrageously expensive is this car. For the majority, driving the GTO presents the opportunity of a lifetime, mixing passion and speed with a personality the size of Sicily. Its 1960 predecessor, the 250 GTO, has long been considered the finest Ferrari ever built. The 2010 version might well change this viewpoint.
(The 599 GTO will be available to customers in the UAE at Dh1,361,570.)
