Thank you, Joe. I absolutely love this post. Especially, with specifications and relevant details and perspectives. I've owned a 599 GTO since new and still do. Before being blessed with the opportunity to purchase the 599 GTO, I owned a 599 GTB, which itself is a quite impressive beast of a supercar in its own right. However, the tuning of the GTO's, chassis, engine, transmission, brakes, etc. when driven aggressively, on the track or spirited rallies, the whole package just works...absolutely just works. The madness of the engine screaming at the peak of its rev range, the transmission whirring in perfect handoff from the engine and to the beefy tires. Violent power conversion upshifts and smooth aggressive gear matching on quick downshifts are so mechanical, so engaging. Though I loved the GTB. The GTO is something special and I continue to enjoy every aspect of it absolutely the way it is.
I absolutely agree, the crackle when down changing from 3rd to 2nd never gets old. Its a very focused car but one which really connects with the driver. The change over the 599 GTB is dramatic to say the least, so much so that to me they feel like two totally different cars. Adding the HGTE kit onto the GTB changed things bit but the whole intensity of the GTO is on another level.
Glad you are enjoying the thread. As someone who deals mainly in the mid-engined Supercars (28 GTO/F40/F50/Enzo etc) I can say all of those cars are stunning in different ways whereas the 599 GTO is utterly beautiful in the pure Ferrari sense, as one owner mentioned to me recently, it has the prettiest silhouette, and unlike the mid-engined cars, there are just no bad angles. Add the magical Enzo-based and 599XX tuned V12 and gearbox in a car you can really drive, and you have automotive lightning in a bottle. For the launch livery (that's the 2010 Shanghai Auto Show GTO below), as a nod to how special the maker thought this last GTO was, Ferrari even hearkened back to the elegant liveries of the exotic coach-built Ferraris of the 50's as used on, for example, some 410 Superamericas which sported contrast colored roofs as seen below. Fast. Beautiful. And with a magical soundtrack. The 599 GTO in 2 words? Ferrari Masterpiece. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Despite the very controversial (polite way of putting it?) livery, and some bets that this one might be a no-sale, the white & red liveried GTO ZFF70RCA0B0183377 brought $1,039,000 at the RM Monterey auction, I later came to understand that this car's livery is an homage to the 599XX which came before it imaged below. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
A long shot I know, but if anyone has a Blu Scozia, Blu Tour De France or Blu Pozzi 599 GTO they will sell please contact me ASAP for a USA collector client who likes dark blue Ferraris, it needs to be a USA car which really narrows down our chances, but the request is worth making. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Time for a quick trip down memory lane with some additional launch period international magazines with 599 GTO articles. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
A few more. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
A colleague saw ZFF70RCA7B0175857 for sale with 1,908 miles at Ferrari of San Diego sandiego.ferraridealers.com I asked for a description and he could only manage "Ooof!" Available for a cool million dollars plus, interestingly this car was offered me just a few months ago for $200k less. Hopefully whoever buys it proceeds to drive it like Enzo intended. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Swiss Niki Hasler Ferrari recently posted about a special GTO that two of their clients from Philip Morris International commissioned in 2010. Back then that company was the main sponsor of the F1 team Scuderia Ferrari. Together with the Italian design company Country Lab which designed brand identity for Scuderia Ferrari, they created this homage to the Ferrari F10 which was the last F1 Ferrari to use the infamous Marlboro barcode. The final livery was Rosso Fuoco with Bianco Avus with the barcode painted on the roof. The story goes that Fernando Alonso, who had just joined Scuderia Ferrari, fell in love with this GTO when he first saw it and asked if he could drive it. So on the 21st of September 2011, Alonso took this GTO for 20 hard laps around Fiorano. The subsequent dash-mounted plaque states: "Twenty Hot Laps and Two Smoking Donuts". Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
