The road going version of the Ferrari F430 Challenge is coming. Take an F430, add some 30 hp (total: 520 hp), subtract some equipment and add some carbon fiber for 160 kg of weight savings (total: 1.290 kg) and you get the idea.

Externally, it’ll be distinguishable by the higher position of the exhaust tubes, the bigger air extractor and the engine-cooling grilles in the back.

Spartan, , ferocious, tempting and probably very costly. We eagerly await the next Paris auto show, to be able to tell you all about it.

[From Autotelegraaf.nl via Motorsportblog]

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Il Sole 24 OreItaly’s main financial newspaper talks about Ferrari’s future. Most of the article is about the future of the 29% of Ferrari that is held by financial institutions and an eventual Ferrari IPO, but the most interesting part is about Ferrari’s new industrial plan, that is being enacted since last year’s separation from Maserati.

The new development plan includes new models (the first being the 599 GTB) and an enlargement of the model range that up to now was considered anathema. The article talks about a model that is unprecedented in Ferrari’s range, a 2+2 coupè with a V8 front engine and RWD.

If it’ll be anything like a baby-Scaglietti, I can already imagine the queue outside Ferrari showrooms, especially it it’ll be positioned well under the F430 (150.000 €) and near the Aston Martin Vantage (110.000 €).

Sales growht could be achieved without damaging too much Ferrari’s exclusivity, recovering part of the production volume lost with the passage of Maserati to Alfa Romeo. That’s important in case of a Ferrari IPO, which would bring much needed cash to Fiat Group but will surely not be in 2006.

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While Ferrari was showing off its 599 GTB Fiorano in red, black and gray in Geneva, it also sent out the press release, with new studio photos and lots of details.

Even the “fake” rear pillar can be seen in detail.

Quick technical data synopsis: the 599 GTB is 4,665 mm long, è 1,962 mm wide and 1,336 mm high, with a dry-weight of 1,580 kg (1,690 in driving order); the engine is a V12 with a 65° between cylinder banks and a 5.999 cc capacity, power output is 620 bhp at 7,600 rpm (limiter at 8,400 rpm); the 6-gear transmission can be either manual or robotic (the new “F1-Superfast” system); the electronics include tyre-pressure control (TPTMS), stability and traction control (CST with F1-TRAC), and a Magnetorheological Suspension Control (SCM).

Performance: more than 330 km/h, from 0-100 km/h in 3,7 seconds, from 0-200 km/h in 11 seconds, average fuel consumption is 21,3 l per 100 km.

Continue reading: Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano - more photos

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Michel Boll of ferrariforum.com shot this very nice image of a yellow Ferrari 599 GTB, caught drifting on the Fiorano test circuit. Below the fold, you can see the image zoomed in on the b-pillar cum rear spoiler.

Continue reading: Yellow Ferrari 599 GTB drifting

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Gossip has been circulating about a “low-cost” Ferrari since Maserati’s ownership passed from Maranello to Alfa Romeo. The name on everyone’s lip was Ferrari Dino (see for example our Italian language blog).

Amedeo Felisa, Ferrari’s deputy managing director, declared that a smaller and cheaper coupè was considered for a while, but the idea has been shelved. The F430 will remain Ferrari’s base model [From Autotelegraaf.nl].

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Up to now there were only three official photos of the Ferrari 599 GTB, the “berlinetta” from Maranello with its fabulous engine and controversial styling. The grainy side view you can see above seems to be a fourth official photo escaped on the net.

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It’s official: the new coupè from Maranello will be called Ferrari 599 GTB, and the photos seen in the weekend were the right ones. The engine is a V12 with a capacity of 5,999 cm³, derived from the Enzo’s engine, with 620 hp at 7,600 rpm. The power to weight ratio is a staggering 2.6 kg/hp, for this “Gran Turismo Berlinetta”. Yummy.

Nothing is said at the moment about performance. They should be quite a bit better than those of the 575M, which had “only” 515 hp. I’d be disappointed if the 599 GTB has a top speed of less than 340 km/h and if it accelerates from 0-100 km/h in more than 4 seconds.

After the jump you can find the full text of the press release.

Continue reading: Ferrari 599 GTB - official photos and data

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Update: high-res pics and press kit here

It seems that the photos of the new Ferrari coupè that have been circulating in the last couple of days really were official. What was wrong was the name. According to the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, the new coupè will shown tomorrow in Detroit and it will be called Ferrari 599 GTB.

The fact that this news come from Il Sole 24 Ore lends it more credence, since it is the daily newspaper of the major Italian employers’ association, and Luca Cordero di Montezemolo is both Ferrari’s and Confindustria’s president …

The design of this new coupè is by Pininfarina, and it seems that names such as F600, “Imola” or “Testarossa” have been passed over in favor of 599 GTB (Gran Turismo Berlinetta).

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Someone in the Autopareri forums posted three photos of the Ferrari F600 (codename F139) that seem to be official. This pictures are sufficiently similar to the spyshots seenn up to now that they could be the real thing, but the styling is a big enough break with the existing models to give pause. While waiting for word from Maranello, let the readers judge the photos, the ample endowent of air intakes and the strange combination of rear pillar / rear glass.

We shall also have to wait for technical data on the F600 (there’s talk of a V12 engine derived from the Enzo’s that should output 590-625 hp).

Continue reading: Ferrari F600 - official pics or PS ?

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Public debut for the Ferrari FXX at the Bologna Motor Show.

A couple of reminders about this Super-Enzo: it’s the result of a collaboration between Ferrari and selected Ferrari clients; only 29 FXXs will be built, the owners will be test drivers, since the FXX can’t be used on public roads, and there is no racing category it can take part in.

So what is it good for ? Private session racing apart, ownership of an FXX means one can take part in a series of 14 events on European, American and Japanese raceways, organized by Ferrari in 2006 and in 2007.

At the moment only the 2006 events at Spa and the Nürburgring are certain. Ferrari technicians will give assistance to the pilots during the races, and Ferrari can take care of transport, for owners who can’t be bothered.

Continue reading: Ferrari Fxx in Bologna

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