Hi all, Took the 612 on the track last Saturday. My goal was to understand where its limits were. It was a fantastic experience, even though it weighs 1.9T, it handled like a go kart, it really did not feel like a 5meter automobile. I was afraid for too much roll and it handled great, I believe the skyhook active suspension plays a big role. Paddle shifting is really fun and lighting fast when you drive with wide opened throttle and protects you nicely against over revs which make you focus more on the track. I probably did 50 KM non stop and had no issue at all, my biggest worry was the brakes and I did not encounter any fading despite the demanding track profile. Especially 2 hard braking, one from 210 to 50 and the other from 150 to 50 ( KMH...) The front mid engine set up is very enjoyable and this track day has really shown me how it works. It has really a neutral behaviour and very sage reactions, I liked the fact that the weigh distribution allows early full throttle while exiting a curve. The V12 sound was making heads turn, especially at high rpm there is no such thing with other track day cars and very few take v12s on the track anyway. Call me chicken but I drove with the CST on, it did not bother me but don't think about drifting with it, too much oversteer will make it kick in and slow you down by braking and killing throttle and make you look stupid. On the low light, I was a little bit surprised when I opened the bonnet, oil splashed everywhere, I quickly figured out it was dexron III from the steering tank, the little vent on the cap made it splash oil over the place, I now understand why the later 612 have a pipe on the vent leading under the car. This is definitely a mod I am going to make as this is a high fire hazard (and no i did not overfill the tank) Engine oil level did not move at all and despite having 4000 KM on it, it is still cristal clear Fuel consumption, was reasonable, I had 300 KM to go and come back + the >50 KM on the track and I used 2/3 of the tank The 612 is not designed for track days and will not stand a chance against a GT3 but it was fun to drive and felt very safe. I would strongly advise it to anyone who wants to understand his machine a little better. It was a one off for me and I am so happy I did it Michel
I bet a 612 on a track day is a rare sight! I will consider doing the same (probably once). Its the only place to understand a car like this properly and safely. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Good for you! The 612 Track Time is about the same as an F40! So, it is pretty good. I once took a tail-heavy Boxer (512 BBi) to Road Atlanta (very challenging) and managed to avoid an incident. That car was definitely not made for the track. The 612 would rip it to pieces. Regardless, driving to the track, tracking your Ferrari, and then driving it home is what the whole Ferrari mystique is about. Lap times at Fiorano Pos Make / Model Time Speed (km/h) Year Power (hp) / Weight (kg) Driven by 1. Ferrari LaFerrari 1:19.90 136 '14 963 / 0 2. Ferrari F12 Berlinetta 1:23.00 131 '12 740 / 1725 3. Ferrari 599 GTO 1:24.00 129 '10 670 / 1495 4. Ferrari Enzo 1:24.90 128 '02 660 / 1365 5. Ferrari 458 Italia 1:25.00 128 '09 570 / 1485 6. Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano HGTE 1:25.90 127 '09 620 / 0 7. Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano 1:26.50 126 '06 620 / 1748 8. Ferrari 360 CS 1:26.50 126 '03 425 / 1280 9. Ferrari 430 Scuderia Spider 16M 1:26.50 126 '09 517 / 1350 10. Ferrari F50 1:27.00 125 '95 520 / 1270 11. Ferrari F430 1:27.00 125 '05 489 / 1450 12. Ferrari F430 Spyder 1:27.00 125 '05 489 / 1599 13. Ferrari F40 1:29.60 121 '87 479 / 1270 14. Ferrari 612 Scaglietti 1:30.50 120 '04 540 / 1919 15. Ferrari 360 Modena 1:31.00 120 '99 400 / 1390 16. Ferrari 575 Maranello 1:31.51 119 '02 515 / 1760 17. Ferrari 550 Maranello 1:32.53 118 '96 486 / 1690 18. Ferrari F355 1:34.00 116 '95 380 / 1350 19. Ferrari 512 TR 1:35.00 114 '91 428 / 1473 20. Ferrari 456 GT 1:35.00 114 '92 442 / 1690 21. Ferrari 288 GTO 1:36.00 113 '84 405 / 1160 22. Ferrari 348TB 1:39.30 110 '89 295 / 1380 23. Ferrari Testarossa 1:40.60 108 '84 396 / 1640
And then there are the tires. I assume 612's time has been set with one of the prior p zeros, maybe even with the small rims. Imagine what would do with stickier tires such as the table leaders. 4sec is nothing. Cool time table! Thanks for sharing . Enviado do meu iPhone usando o Tapatalk
Funny you should mention the 4 seconds; that small difference behind the 599 also buys you 2 additional seats. In addition, the the HGTS / HGTC, HGT2, Sessanta, and OTO versions are probably faster too.
Wow, good for you! And as HKS479 said, a 612 on the track is a rare sight, no, it's a very rare sight. I had signed up for the track days at the FCA Annual Meet in Daytona next week, but then I backed out of it. We're driving the 612 down and then later going to Key West. I figure from Boston I will put at least 4000 miles on the car round trip. The track event is two full days and I was a little concerned about putting that much stress on the car then having to drive it another 2500 miles before I got home. I just had the new Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S tires put on in expectation of tracking it. There will be some pace car laps so I will try to participate it that. I want to do a track day, but I think I will do it closer to home.
Well done Michel I found turning off the CST was worth 2 secs a lap on a short circuit - made the car more nervous but didn't get bogged down with the "hand of God" stuff These are the comparative times from our club track day at our National Rally last year which are interesting. Obviously the driving talent varies VIP Towncars Ferrari Club Australia National Rally Perth 2016 Track Day Results 458 Challenge 0:58.3438 458 Speciale 1:03.4459 488GTB 1:04.8792 458 Speciale 1:04.9382 360 Challenge 1:05.1048 F430 Scuderia 1:06.6573 F430 Scuderia 1:06.7080 F430 1:07.2252 360 Modena 1:07.3614 F430 Scuderia 1:07.5030 458 Aperta 1:07.8675 612 Scaglietti 1:07.9186 599GTB Fiorano 1:08.1912 360 Modena 1:10.5135 360 Spider 1:11.9558 360 Modena 1:12.6579 F430 Scuderia 1:12.7037 599GTB Fiorano 1:13.0119 F430 Spider 1:14.3234 512TR 1:14.3849 F355 GTS 1:14.7050 California 1:15.3688 308GT4 1:15.4672 308GTB 1:16.4166 360 Spider 1:16.5831 308GT4 1:18.4589 F355GTS 1:18.7892 246GTS 1:19.0710 360 Modena 1:19.6856
I've had my 612 out on the track several times-- it is a lot of fun-- and very fast in the right hands. I let my brother (highly experienced and successful racer) do some laps, and it was something else. He drove it so hard it developed a pinhole leak in the radiator!
I was cleaning the car after the track day, taking off the wheels and inspecting everything. Brake pads melt like snow in the sun, if you think it was just 50 KM ... I needed to go with a pin through the disc to take out brake dust that clogged the holes and used brake cleaner too. Good thing about it is that pads are the consumable, I guess you can do few sets before thinking of changing the rotors. My 20 inch challenge wheel did not get damaged, good thing, they were refurbished last year. I forgot to tell you this detail but the challenge wheel probably play a big role on how the car behaved vs. 18/19 wheels My old P zero were becoming hard and slippery before the track day, and it seems this stress took the hard top layer off, leaving a very soft surface, the only issue is that I caught a lot of rubber that was on the track and it is nearly impossible to take out, I picked a few pieces but left a lot of them as it would take hours for each tire. I am impressed on how little the tires got used Squid pads did not touch at all. well I think they are not really done for that,,, All good in the end An idea crossed my mind this morning, did anyone ever strip a 612 of its heavy interior to make it a track day car? the car should be very light... I am sure there is at least 300 KG you can get out, some chassis tuning could make it a fun track day car. We have a few high mileage cars were we live for sale at 50 K$, they could be nice projects, I guess it is a question of time before someone does that
Great to hear about someone tracking their 612. I took mine to Silverstone for a Ferrari club track day two years ago. I had a terrific time and the car behaved impeccably. A track, and Silverstone in particular because of all the run-off, was a great place to turn off the electronics and really get a feel for the handling of the car. My take-away was that the 612's handling is really benign - when it's backside was provoked into a slide, it was all easily controllable. It gives one much more confidence when making "good progress" on the road. Those track times fit with my experience on the day. The 612 was only overtaken, I think, by Challenge and race-prepared cars. It certainly wasn't its driver's skill. An admirable result!
I loved tracking my 612. I'm not a great driver nor experienced at tracking, but I had a blast with the other Ferrari's and felt very held back by all the lesser 8 cyls in front of me.
Wow, well done Michel. Which track? Over 5 seconds faster around Fiorano than a 288 GTO, that's some progress! And that close to a Scud in Australia? Knowing both I would not expect that. Although some of the other comparisons suggest that drivers were a real factor.
HI John, This was anneau du Rhin near Colmar in France It is 1h30 away from zurich, I got invited by a friend who is club member, I would have not done an open track day otherwise. Club members were real gentlemen on the track, all with Ferrari or other expensive toys, some guy took a shelby daytona, what a beauty!!! very relaxed atmosphere otherwise, besides some guys trying to set lap times in GT3s people are taking it easy there. I do not know how the mood is when they have open days though, but I can well imagine danger coming from the local renault clio racers
I've been to that track on a Porsche day. Fun but tight so interesting that the 612 worked so well. I like the idea of a stripper track 612 though. Coil overs, buckets, could be superb.You really think 300 kgs lighter?
Ford actually does this with their Shelby Mustangs. The GT-R model deletes the back seat, A/C & Radio, and replaces wheels with light-weight carbon fiber ones from some company in Australia. (You can still add back the A/C & Radio).
Think about getting your best leather sofas out your car I'd say 100KG Then all vibration dampers material, bonnet trunk doors, Deleting the mufflers, that's an easy 50 KG gain, I could see already the gain with my tubi and straight pipes would do the job well Stereo, loudspeakers 20 KG Airco compressor, I would also take out the whole ventilation system out, that's another 50 KG all together I am sure you would be between 200 and 300 KG Bumpers are very heavy too, they are made of fiber glass but injected with PU foam, some work there could make you easily gain some KG It might be a relatively cheap track car in the end considering a 50 k$ tag of the 60Kmiles cars. that would be cheaper than getting a 911 to that level of performance, I am sure that the engine is bullet proof and does not need any work besides plugs, timing and racing oil, clutch would be my point of worry, if you have to work on it every few 1000 KM , but changing just the disc seems straight forward and inexpensive
If you cut about 1m out of it's wheel base you would have a much lighter car too, and a car maybe as short as a 599? . Plus there must be some straights where the front half of a 612 has to brake while the rear of the car is still accelerating out of the previous corner Only joking and jealous. Great to hear you guys are having fun with your 612 Pete
Interesting idea, although at current prices probably makes more sense to start with a 575, which (at least in Germany) is not much more expensive (say 20k) but already say 200kg lighter and therefore less money to be spent on the diet (or better results achieved) I wanted to do this to a 550 when they were still cheap - think 550LM (the U.K. Built car I think in 2004)... ah well missed chance, now too rich for me
Congrats from Austria! I would use my 612 on a track one time too´. It´s really a rare car on the tracks ... Greetings from Austria Chris
