First weekend in my GTO

The car is now cooling down in the garage having put 650km on it since being picked up on Friday afternoon.

Friday was just a short trip around the lake and a few local places just to get to know the basics of the car. I waited until Saturday to take it out for a proper run. As luck would have it, it was gloriously sunny and warm and I picked up my friend Marcus and we headed to the Susten Pass. I am very lucky to live within an hour of several legendary mountain passes - Susten, Grimsel, Nufenen, to name but three. The car will soon become very familiar with these places, but right now they are all supposed to be closed as the snow hasn't yet cleared. We were hoping we would be able to get most of the way up the pass, when it would be empty of traffic.

And were were in luck - the road was virtually deserted (except for a slow Jeep that we had to crawl behind for a few minutes) almost to the top.

And the car came alive on these wonderful roads. It is loud, very loud. The sound from the exhaust in race mode as the revs climb towards and past 3500rpm is like a million angry hornets dropped into the Devil's trumpet. Sounds a little poncey to say that, but forgive me, I'm at a loss for words right now. I limited myself to mostly staying below 5000rpm, as the manual suggests for the first 1000km. But every now and then ... wow. Brutal and relentless surge of acceleration in any gear, there is so much more torque than my old 670SV for example. Downshifts, from high speeds and with the exhaust warm - very very loud whipcracks often accompanied by one or two secondary loud crackles. So it is loud, fast, and stirs the senses.

And then there's the ride and handling. Even in race mode, at low speeds trundling around town or on poor road surfaces, you know it is firm and taut but never jarring. Then when you find a good twisty, fast road, the suspension simply adjusts imperceptibly and flat cornering is assured. And the steering. Oh my. Better than any car I've driven - 911GT3's or Lotuses included. Quick, accurate, and communicative, nicely weighted.

I also have the data logging option, and it works on open stretches of road such as mountain passes as well as closed circuits though obviously without lap timing. It was nice when I got home to relive my drive virtually.

Gripes? Well, the aircon doesn't seem to want to do any more than gently waft cold air at me (I specified the thermo insulating windscreen as the dealer said this would be some help to keep me cool). And the car developed an annoying squeak after I picked it up, the dealer diagnosed this as a suspension bush that was rubbing and fixed this. Oh, and you really do need to pay attention to the VRE - when it says the tyres are still blue that really does mean if you floor it in a straight line on a perfectly dry stretch of highway, the rear end will start moving!

But really, when you find some fast road with great corners, the speed you can carry, the traction with warmed up tyres, the fantastic steering, the noise, the downshifts. It all passes in a blur. With an enormous grin. Enormous. And I still have it now. What an epic weekend. And it starts again in precisely 5 days

Some pics and videos to follow below

 

Some photographs:
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wow

congratulations on a fine machine, and fine experience!

it's really quite good to be alive ...

 

And an in-car video

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fDvAXCNi7M[/ame]

 

Wow, sounds great!

Putting 650km's on your GTO in the first weekend, nice. Let's just get that brake-in period over with and go with the revs Shame for the music though in the cabin Should be engine music only

Love your write-up and hope to read a lot more over the coming weeks. Best wishes and save miles.

 

Andrew, really great write up, congratulations on putting some kms on her over the weeks end! Beautiful car.

 

Woah the downshifts are really impressive for me, are they always that aggressive?

 

congrats on a beautifully speced car that looks even better in pictures!

 

First at all, congratulations for the great car that you have. I also own a rosso scuderia Gto, and I want to give us more information about the new telemetry system. Can you share with us the data that you get.
Yours

 

Great writeup and really aggressive spec! Keep driving and telling us about it, big congratulations

 

Congratulations. And thank you for the write up. The car is fantastic.

 

Congratulations Andrew. Great write up and what a weekend to start off with. Thanks for the pics and the video. I think you will now understand better why I was so excited about the GTO when we last talked.

Weather here was great over the weekend and I've put about 450 km extra on the clock. That's the only down side ... you just want to drive and drive it adding up the km but you get so much in return!!!

One question: you mentioned that you didn't take it over 5,000 rpm as the manual mentions this (don't do it for the first 1,000 km). I haven't noticed this. I basically took mine to the track with only 400 km on it as my dealer stated this was perfectly fine as long as the car was properly warmed up. The engines are run in at the factory.

Have loads of fun with your fine GTO!!

Cheers,

M

 

Congrats Andrew!! Amazing car!

Cool pics, certainly have some of the best roads in the world there.

Thanks for sharing and I hope you enjoy that wonderful machine!

 

Thanks guys, glad you liked the write-up. It helped me to 'de-buzz' at the end of a GTO weekend.

M, I can quite understand you putting more km's on yours. I was also told the engine is already run in, I think the manual is just playing it safe, allowing for engine, gearbox, etc to bed in with each other before putting too much power through the drivetrain. I'm not really technical so I decided to follow the book but at the same time not be too gentle; I heard it is worse to labour the engine or spend too long at constant revs.

I've been invited to Fiorano on 9 May so it looks like a track outing is near. Despite it being the day after the Turkish GP, they say Alonso will be there too.

Modena, what do you want to know about the telemetry?

 

Yes!

 

Great write-up and video - thank you.

As for...

...definitely not poncey! Just perfect!

 

Fantastic stuff

 

Great write up. Id personally like to see some of the VRE screens if you have the time to take a few pictures. Also, my sense of it is while they run the motors in the tires, brakes, perhaps diff all need to break in. And then theres the most important part requiring break in: YOU. Seriously, these are tremendously high performance cars that you have to get used to.

 

Beautiful car in the perfect environment ! Great to see the break-in progressing so rapidly

 

great pictures and car. i really love the 599 i just wish it came in a real stick.

 

It does, just not in the GTO. If you look around there are a few 6 speed manuals.

 

Can you post some screenshoots from the computer where is the telemetry software installed. I need To know which variables the System manages.
I have installed in my Gto a telemtry System from Race Technology. it has a data logger and a onboard video System with 3 cams. I would Nike To compare the OEM telemetry System with the Race Technology

 

Nice ride

 

I post a on board video from my GTO in Montmelo Track

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM_TWZf_VtU[/ame]

The telemetry system is from Race Technology. I would like that you compare this system with the OEM from Ferrari installed in new GTO´s

 

Modena, the Ferrari system hasn't got video support it is more akin to a traditional logging system. When I get some time in the next few days I'll do a screenshot etc as you asked.

The setup you've got looks nice. I have a camera with real time data overlay in my Radical, an Aim Smartycam, uses data directly from the Aim logger in the car.