599 HGTE Track Impressions

Had the opportunity earlier in the week to have around 10 passenger laps in a HGTE, consider that I have also spent around 50 laps in the same car before I had the upgrade.

Firstly even from the passenger seat the car feels different, roll is very much reduced and the rear in particular feeling much more planted around corners, first we tried the car in sport as the track was damp in placed and even then the whole car felt more tied down, moved onto race and that just increased the composed feeling. There being much less dive under braking, the gearbox also felt different, the small increase in speed being quite noticeable on the track.

However one thing of interest was after 5 laps the brakes were smoking which I thought odd considering tha track isnt that heavy on brakes, we were braking at the 150 meter mark, albeit down from around 150 mph to around 65 mph. This brake smoking was never an issue woth the standatd pentagram wheels, making me wonder if the larger HGTE wheels dont allow as much cooling as the standard wheels do. Despite this the driver reported the brakes felt fine, no fade.

My overall impression: Simply staggering, a GT has no right to do this well on the track, to be able to keep the V12 singing between 5500 and 8000 rpm is an experience of note, the exhaust sounding fantastic. Before the HGTE the 599 was an amazing car, after the fitment of the kit its a staggering car!

Pics to follow soonish.