There are fast cars, and then there are very fast cars. The Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano can reach 100mph faster than the vast majority of cars can get to 60mph: in just 7.4 seconds.
Crashing through 60mph in just 3.7 seconds on the way, thrust forward by a 612bhp Tipo F140 C 5999cc engine, all in a civilised coupe body, and you can see why Autocar called the Fiorano “the most complete GT ever conceived”.
Evo magazine’s Car of the Year and Top Gear’s Supercar of the Year when it was launched in 2006, this ultra-modern Ferrari shook the supercar establishment by adding Formula One technology to a practical road car with plenty of space, including a decent-sized boot.
Styled by Pininfarina, and debuting at the Geneva Motor Show in 2006, the car featured Ferrari’s new traction control system, F1-Trac, plus an aluminium chassis, F1 SuperFast gearbox, magnetic semi-active dampers and carbon-ceramic brakes.
Wrapped in a large super-GT body, the F1-style paddle-shift gearchange and carbon-ceramic brakes added about £17,000 to the price, but very few cars were built without them; if you can afford a Ferrari etc…
The car’s origins could be traced right back to the legendary front-engined 250 GT SWB of the 1960s, and it was a stratospheric leap forward from the 575 it replaced.
In 2008, the HGTE version introduced stiffer and lower suspension and a harsher ride, and 2010 saw the ultimate evolution – the 661bhp GTO road racer – but testers at Evo considered the standard model more useable “and a genuine bargain” (all things are relative, of course).
“When you unleash the Fiorano’s full force the shift lights across the top of the steering wheel begin to illuminate and your whole world streams into fast forward,” the magazine described.
“Flat-out in the 599 is an all-consuming experience, each gear delivering a more intense hit than the last. The Veyron may post fiercer figures, but it surely can’t match the Fiorano’s naturally aspirated immediacy on give-and-take roads.”
Ferrari’s own promotional video pits the 599 against the legendary F40 in a staged road race. Needless to say, the 599 – the car they were trying to sell – “won”.