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Look at it; just have a good look at it. Would you expect anything less from Ferrari, than to produce such a beauty marked with the famous black prancing stallion on a yellow shield? Just by looking at it you probably can tell that it is packed with power, just look at the carbon fiber brake discs; they practically fill the area of the rims and that has to tell everyone something.

I know what it is saying to me, “yow punk is your precious Viper able to produce 700-horsepower? Well that’s my target.”

Carbon fiber will be extensively use on the 599XX, even the intakes, and other bits to save weight and add a little visual flair. The 599XX, which should be getting an official production announcement sometime in the near future, rides on 19 inch racing slicks and also a dedicated suspension different from that employed in standard 599 donor cars.

Ferrari 599XX Concept

While based on the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano and with the same transaxle layout and engine type, the Ferrari 559XX is an extreme track car. Ferrari’s engineers have carried out extensive work on the engine’s combustion chambers and inlet and exhaust tracts. These modifications, combined with the fact that internal attrition has been reduced and the maximum revs have been boosted to 9,000 rpm, helped achieve the target power output of 700 hp at 9,000 rpm. Particular attention was also paid to cutting the weight of the engine unit components. This was achieved both by optimizing forms – as in the new crankshaft – and adopting exclusive materials, as in the carbon-fiber used for the intake plenums. A new gearbox shift strategy cuts overall gear-change times to 60 ms.

The Ferrari 599XX is characterized by an innovative electronic concept called the ‘High Performance Dynamic Concept’, which has been designed to get maximum performance from the car by managing the combination of the car’s mechanical limits with the potential of its electronic controls. The mechanical and electronic systems work together to get the maximum performance from the car under extreme high performance driving, for consistent lap times. The sporty handling has been improved thanks to the adoption of second generation SCM suspension system. Track usage is also made easier thanks to the new ‘virtual car engineer’, a screen in the car that provides a real-time indication of the vehicle’s efficiency.

The 599XX’s aerodynamics was honed in numerous Wind Tunnel test sessions with the result that the car now boasts 280 kg of down-force at 200 km/h (630 kg at 300 km/h). The front underside of the body is completely faired-in and the vents that channel hot air from the engine bay have been moved to the bonnet.

The ‘Actiflow™’ system increases down-force and/or cuts drag, depending on the car’s trim cornering conditions, courtesy of the use of a porous material in the diffuser and two fans in the boot, which channel the air flow from under the car out through two grilles next to the tail lights. Winglets have been added to the rear buttresses to increase down-force, while synthetic jets have also been incorporated into the rear of the car to control and smooth the air flow and to reduce drag. Ferrari’s engineers have also used F1-derived ‘doughnuts’, which partly cover the brake discs and wheel rim. These have the dual functions of improving aerodynamics and cooling the brakes.

In terms of the bodywork, composites and carbon-fiber have been widely used and the engineers drew on their experience in working with aluminum to reach the weight target. The development of increasingly high-performance materials has also benefited the carbon-ceramic braking system. The brake pads are now made from carbon-fiber, which means the calipers are smaller while guaranteeing the same efficiency. The new racing carbon-ceramic braking system also delivers shorter braking distances and is generally more efficient due to the weight saving.

The 599XX comes with slick tires (29/67 R19 front and 31/71 R19 rear), specifically developed to maximize stability in cornering and increase lateral acceleration. They are fitted to 19 x 11J wheel rims at the front and 19 x 12J at the rear.