599 GTO is a collectible?

I've said it on another thread but I'll say it again here. The 599 GTO, astonishingly good as it is, isn't a true racer, by inception or intention. Its a limited run, modified 599 HGTE using the same reciepe as first started with the CS and later with the 430 Scuderia. As others have said its a 599 Scuderia. So to answer the question, its as collectable as a CS, Scud, etc.

The only difference with the GTO, they held back... its very obviously a marketing and tech led exercise. It met the objectives with electronics so thats it, don't try so hard on weight reduction. Why do I think they held back? IMHO its to leave something on the table for the Enzo replacement to usher in. Otherwise who's going to pay more for the Enzo replacement if the 599 GTO was 'on par'.

100kg's weight loss on a 1.7 tonne vehicle is pure marketing, its only a few % of the cars weight. This car is not a GTO in the purest sense of it being designed to go racing. No way. If that where the case you'd have seen a kerb weight closer to 1300kg's THEN it would have been worthy of the GTO badge.

I'm sure using all the computer technology make it still drive sensationally but at 1.6 tonnes its no race car.

Take the original 575. When the race teams created the GTC it went down from a kerb weight of 1.7 tonnes down to 1175kg's. Now thats what I call a weight reduction programme! They also upped power from 540hp to 600hp giving a bhp per tonne of 511.

Weight and understeer are the enemy! On the 599 they just concentrated on banishing understeer. Just for comparison, some bhp per tonnes. Obviously you'd also like to compare torque per tonne and whether it kicks in at low revs and also aero and electronic traction for a true comparison, nethertheless bhp per tonne is telling.

360 : 257
550 : 287
CS : 322
Scud : 381
Italia : 378
599 GTB : 358
599 GTO : 416
Enzo: 483
575 GTC : 511

GT-R: 294
Veyron: 530

Still with so much power generated it makes an exceptional BHP per tonne case for itself, I just get the feeling they could have gone so much further with this and created a true monster. Instead its just another niche special edition like the Scud. Brilliant, yes, but not the best Ferrari could have accomplished had they really rolled out the boat. That will come in the Enzo replacement.

 

But why would they on a car that is based on a 599 platform??? What they have done is already much more than the Scud simply because they had 599XX technology already in hand.

A true monster will be a true supercar on a supercar platform

 

That must be just in the US. 25 came to Hong Kong with a population of only 7mn!

I love the 16M and will buy one again at some point. Problem with it was the price point. At about HKD4.5mn it is really expensive for what it is

 

No, I agree. They wouldn't but for me the whole point of those evocative letters 'GTO' was Omologato. Racing Holomogation and transfering xx software (which lets face it will trickle down to the entire range starting with the 458)without the weight reduction doesn't cut it. I still think they should have called it the 599 Scuderia.

Just my 2p's...

 

+1

By the way, driving them didn't hurt the values of what we think of when anyone says GTO.

Moral of the story. ....

Need I say it?

 

I have a 288GTO and it doesn't bother me in the least to see the GTO letters on the 599. There is no such thing as a race car for the road anymore. The 3.8 997GT3RS is a cool car but has little in common with the cup yet is a homologation car. Ferrari, Porsche and others will shamelessly use their heritage to shift end of model run carcasses at a premium. Nothing is sacred