Rumor: Hardcore 700hp Ferrari 599 GTO Limited Edition in the Works

The 599 GTB Fiorano is Ferrari's flagship model and the company's most powerful production road car. But it has also turned into an interesting development platform, with Ferrari offering an in-house tuning upgrade in the form of the HGTE package as well as a track variant, the Ferrari 599XX. Now it looks like another offspring may emerge, a hardcore version of the 599 Fiorano that is lighter, faster and more agile. Initial pre-order paperwork lists this new monster as the Ferrari 599 GTO Limited Edition. Obviously, this is a reference to the legendary 250 GTO cars from the 1960s. Nobody is sure what the final name will be, but this seems to work just fine.

Engine output from the V12 is suggested to fall somewhere between 680 hp and 700 hp. The base 599 Fiorano is rated at 611 bhp while the 599XX is listed as 690 bhp. So, this should be a significant performance boost over the stock model and peg the new Ferrari 599 GTO closer to the development version. Weight reduction is expected to be in the range of 100 to 150 pounds through the use of lighter components and carbon fiber. This looks to be shaping up as Ferrari's answer to the Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SuperVeloce.

Supposedly, the new Ferrari 599 GTO Limited Edition will be unveiled in the next few months, with invitations sent to dealers and potential buyers to check out the car in person in Maranello. The first public offering will most likely be at the Geneva Motor Show, where the 599 Fiorano made its debut in 2006 and the 599XX in 2009. Deliveries are expected to begin in October 2010. As a limited edition model, pricing should be atmospheric. A premium of up to 25% over the current Fiorano is expected, which would put the cost north of $380,000.

Source:  autogespot