Here are two video clips of 550 GTS testing at Zhuhai track. Turn up the volume to hear that V12 in full song. Exiting pit lane http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbH9xOmAN0Y Doing hot laps http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kYoctRnDzk
That car is such an incredible piece of engineering.. and it looks fantastic too! I saw that car when it did some laps at the start of the Classic Adelaide a few years ago now.. but that in car footage it great.. it seems such an uncompromising race car! Thanks for posting it. Greg
It's a pure race car through and through. Turn in is very precise, handling is well balanced, and car feels surprisingly light. With 600hp on tap you can easily steer with the throttle. I'm still learning how to drive it properly. I am very lucky to have it.
Not is right. Car feels nothing like a street going 550! It even makes a 360 Challenge race car feel like a boat. I have enough spare parts and body moulds to make another one, so turning my street going 550 into another GTS might be a fun project for my mechanics.
Oh my that is heavenly! And you're doing very quick times. Do you mind sharing with us the specs? What sort of gearbox is it & the maintenance involved. I was just reading about blue-printed & balanced engine & wonder how often do race cars like yours needs a rebuild or at least a clutch job?
Car was originally built by Italtecnica for Team Rafanelli who raced it in the US for a couple of years under Olive Garden sponsorship. There have been a number of aero and mechanical updates on the car, but I'm not sure who did what. As far as I know the engine that's in the car is stroked to 6 liters with 12:1 compression and puts out around 600hp with FIA intake restrictors in place. It has a 6 speed Hewland sequential box, Brembo carbon brakes, and carbon bodywork on steel tube frame. So far after 2 test days we did not have to do any maintenance other than to bleed the brakes. The suspension bits are lifed at 5,000km and we broke a RH rear hub 45 minutes into our very first test session way back in May. I have a huge spares package, but as usual the part we need is the part we don't have so we had to order one from Europe. Talk about sticker shock. I would guess the engine is lifed for 3,000 to 5,000 km. And luckily I do have a spare engine.
Wonderful. Thanks for the info. Did you buy as a personal capacity or under a team, for race? & what races are you looking forward to? Is the engine still running with Ferrari parts or customed? Eg. pistons, cams etc or customed in workshops & is there certain restrictions by the race body on how much one can mod the car or barred from the race? The gearbox seems to be shifting very very fast Sorry for the Qs I'm just very curious about racing but I do hear it's a very expensive affair & sponsorship is a must.
It sounds amazing! Yes, I saw this 550 GTS raced under the Olive Garden at the American Le Mon Series (ALMS) at Searspoint, Sonoma years ago. It might have been in green color. I spoke with the mechanic and was told ALOT of mods done to the car including enlarging the motor to a 6.0 L.. I might still have the picture of the car when it was with the Olive Garden.
For now it's just a personal trackday car. I may race it in future though. I imagine other than engine block and heads there are not very many OEM parts. Everything is custom made for sole purpose of racing. The attention to detail is amazing. For example every single screw is the exact right length to save weight. The sequential gearbox up shifts at full throttle without clutch so it's instantaneous. Down shifts need to clutch and blip the engine.
Yes, this is the car. This car did very well throughout the race at Searspoint during the ALMS. She PUSHED a Covette of course at turn 7-8. As I recall, there were only two 550s in the GTS group and out numbered by the Covettes. The Covette took the checker flag. Nonetheless, she fought a good fight. It is nice to see her in action and enjoying her retirement at Zhuhai. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for that bit of history. According to another web site this car finished 11th overall and 3rd in GTS class at Sears Point in 2002.
Yes, what a good race, considering without the factory support and the first year the 550 competed in the GTS class. In recent years, the V-8 Ferrari has been doing very well at the ALMS and others. Does not mean to steal any thunder, Searspoint is a wonder track, alot of cars hit the wall at turn 10. I was in a factory Maserati race car a few months ago at Seaspoint. Here is a video I'd like to share http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eynkLRf0nlc
Very good read. I always like cars with history. I remembered reading an article in Forza that the factory didn't support the US team? (can't remember the name) back then & he had to buy them (F550s) in the open market then modify them to enter races using private funds. They did surprisingly well & some cars were retired to race in Japan's GT with some success as well.
Japan GT and Citation Cup are two series where this car can still race competitively. Too rich for my blood though.
Happy to see the Big 12 on the track. What a monster. Next time you are going out you should let us know so we can all climb the tower and feel the thunder
Fantastic. I will definitely go on one or both days. Cooler air now so a good situation for me to practice Formula Renault. See you there. Are you sure that the itch was not from your lunch at FS? Good to see you and Mrs. CWWHK
I had the good fortune to be at Zhuhai these past 2 days when CWWHK had the 550 GTS out on the track. What a sight and sound. Unbelievable the speed. It was like a Formula 1 was on the track with Formula Geelys. Cupcars looked downright slow. The sheer speed was just unbelievable. It must have been stressful for CWWHK to be so much faster than the other cars. The upshifts on the straight sounded more like a turbine than a car. CWWHK had new tyres and was taking it cautiously at the beginning. By the last session he was braking late and gassing hard. Fantastic job. He should have charged admission. Anyone at the track was so lucky to see a 550 GTS driven in anger.
Ha ha, new set of soft compound slicks was worth over 2 seconds. I drove pretty close to my skill limit, but car can definitely go another 1.5 seconds faster in the hands of a top notch pro driver. It was very nerve racking with all the slower cars on track, but most behaved reasonably well. I think I'll go backup next Wed & Thu and do some 360C testing. That will feel like a stroll in the park after the 550GTS though.
