Ferrari 599 GTB, Undervalued or what?

I actually owned an '07 599 (one of first delivered to US in late 2006) and drove it for 9 months before I got my current '11 HGTE which I've been driving for almost 5 years. I can tell you that there's a significant difference in handling, stability, road-holding / relative comfort, power transfer due to the faster TCU. The HGTE's standard Recaro racing seats (in leather, alcantara and CF) are also superior to the Daytona sports seats on the GTB.

After early customers complained that their 599's lacked sporting capabilities, Ferrari engaged F1 ace Michael Schumacher to work with its engineers to redevelop and improve it resulting in introduction of the 599 HGTE in the EU (2009) and in the US (2010).
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Was that just a spring and shock tune package?

 

I'm not arguing with anyone here, but I took the cats off for straight pipes and added a Tubi exhaust and it completely changed the car for the better.

 

FBB- HGTE had stiffer springs and rear anti-roll bar, special wheels with 8.5" fronts, TCU with 85 ms min shift time (std 100 ms) with matching Motronic ECUs, special seats with HGTE markings, special low back-pressure exhaust with dual wall tailpipes outlined in black, different grille and Cavallinos front and rear, white tachometer face. Probably missed something, but HGTE owners can fill in.

 

This is the official PDF from Ferrari on the HGTE kit.

 

Thanks, I did not have that one.

 

No probs Terry, I was sent this when I asked my dealer what it came with.


May the Horse be with you

 

Hi Terry,

HGTE tachometers' standard white dials are standard but customers' are allowed to specify an optional yellow dial.

Likewise the embroidered "Handling GTE" script below the Cavallino Rampante on the seat's headrest can be optionally deleted per customer request.

The special front grille of the HGTE can be optionally replaced by a GTO style grill as well.

The Ferrari Equipment Catalog published in 2010 showed a full length paddle shifter (same as the 599 Challenge shifter and standard on the 2009-14 458 Italia) available for all 599's.

I replaced my HGTE's original half-length paddle shifter with these Challenge full-length ones which I highly recommend as 'absolutely necessary' for sporty / race track driving especially to conveniently quick access downshifting during and upshifting after turns while leaving both hands at the 2 (or 3) and the 10 (or 9) o'clock positions on the steering wheel.

Butch

 

Standard Daytona seats were also available on the HGTE. One of our FChatters ordered his that way. My 575M has had Carbonio extended CF paddles for nearly 10 years. Not sure I could drive her with the OEM short paddles now. They still have 599/GTO paddles, but the 575/360 paddles have been discontinued.



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Me, too Terry. They've become second nature to my driving style such that I can up or downshift without repositioning my hands' location on the steering wheel especially during tight turning radii.

 

My paddles are CF but they are somewhere in between those two. They don't have the lower extension but they angle down from the column and are longer than the aluminum ones shown. For example, my left paddle covers from about 8 to 10 o'clock. I am 6'6" and have pretty long fingers so the length has never been an issue for me. I will try to get some time and post a pic later today. But, @Da Butcher is correct in how accustomed you become to shifting. I get in other cars and I find myself reaching for the paddles, oops.

 

Another reason why I prefer CF accessories or CF covered surfaces versus aluminum or metallic ones is that they're much cooler to the touch when directly exposed to sunlight through the windshield and side windows. I don't have to worry about that with my HGTE.

However, both my daily MB's (SL55 and CLS550) have anodized aluminum start buttons on their tranny sticks and it's always painful to push my thumb to start them when the cars have been exposed outside. Even though they have windshield shades, the interior's ambient heat transfer can be high enough to raise the buttons' surface temperatures to nearly result in first degree burns.

 

I took the rear cats off and installed a straight pipe. Certainly changed the exhaust note which was too muted.