Track Test - Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano
One year later, I find myself again in front of a Ferrari Fiorano, but this is where similarities end. The weather is cold and grey, low menacing clouds wrap this region of eastern France, I am standing on the pitlane of Circuit de Bresse and the 599 GTB is wrapped in Ferrari’s proverbial red. Not my preferred color for this GT but that will do, thank you. We’ve conveyed a 430 Scuderia the day before so my references are shattered, and the perspective to sample Ferrari’s flagships back to back with some track time is such a golden opportunity I’d even do it in a purple car, dressed in an assorted tutu.
After a few reconnaissance laps in our 550 Maranello, I strap myself into the bucket seat of the Fiorano and leave the pitlane. The track is better suited to hot hatches than Ferrari’s armada, but treacherous grip conditions and tight second gear corners will throw a nice challenge at the car’s stability and traction management algorithms. Sitting low to avoid scraping my helmet against the roof lining, the 599 feels every bit the large barge it objectively is. Yet, a conspicuous approach to the first tight corners reveals amazing grip from the front, confidence inspiring as I’d rather not be the first to send the red prima donna in the gravel trap. Actually, I’d rather not visit the gravel traps at all.
Manettino set in a very appropriate “low grip” mode (there is also an “ice” mode, but that would be wimpy), traction control is simply amazing, it contains the abundant torque in the most discrete way. No abrupt cuts, no jerks, I don’t even remember seeing flashing indicators telling me that I should really not be provoking the car like this. Of course, the laws of physics still apply, but you would have to be absurdly clumsy or an irresponsible daredevil to get yourself in trouble.
Approaching the last right hander, it occurs to me that an adult man has about the same lung capacity as the displacement of the V12 nestled under the hood. As I track out from the apex, this striking analogy is immediately blown away by the 599 picking up revs at full throttle. The acceleration is staggering, the noise mesmerizing. It’s just richer, subtler than the brash aggression of the Scuderia, with a metallic edge so characteristic of the Enzo. If the flatplane crank V8 is loud, the V12 still stands proud in the choir of great engines, offering unrivalled texture and progression.
It’s hardly believable, but the Fiorano’s F1-Superfast gearbox almost feels slow in comparison with its track-focused rival in the range. Fast enough for sure, but still within cognitive reach for the average human being. It’s almost a relief to escape the torment of the devilish matte black 430 S.
It’s no surprise that Ferrari has banned steel rotors from its model range since 2008, as they feel barely adequate to dissipate the massive kinetic energy that the Fiorano gains on anything that resembles a straight line. It does not take many laps to get them to grumble. Time for a cool down lap. Heading back into the pits, Ferrari’s achievement sinks in. While the track is not its favorite playground, the 599 has once again demonstrated impressive capabilities which undoubtedly make it one of the most desirable hyper-performance GTs money can buy.
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