The folks at Maranello like to call the Ferrari FXX prototype program a "truly innovative technical collaboration" and it certainly is that, but most people will see it as a truly audacious marketing effort.
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| Ferrari FXX (photo: Ferrari) |
Consider that the quintessential sportscar company is going to charge about 20 of its "most dedicated and passionate clients" a fortune -- EUR1.5 million -- for a car they cannot race or drive on the street, and is making them apply for the privilege.The trick is that ''every Client who signs up for the FXX project by purchasing one of the estimated 20 or so cars being built will actually be joining Team Ferrari, and will have his driving experiences at the wheel of this new car monitored directly by the Prancing Horse's technicians and specialists."Racing has a sad history of letting rich guys buy their way into even the most prestigious series (including F1) or races (LeMans), but this is something new. Even with the scarlet cars having a tough time on the F1 circuit this year, there will be absolutely no problem getting people to sign up for this deal. The issue for Ferrari will likely be placating the big shooters who are rejected.According to Ferrari, the FXX is the most advanced GT ever created at Maranello, and "its mission is to involve Ferrari's most valued Clients as genuine Prancing Horse Test Drivers in their own right. The wealth of data and experience gathered in the course of this very special program will be exceptionally important."Indeed, says Ferrari, "the feedback from these highly skilled, non-professional Client Test Drivers will be compared and supplemented with suggestions from Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello and Ferrari's professional in-house Test Drivers."
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| Ferrari FXX (photo: Ferrari) |
The Italian firm says the FXX is the "fruit of Ferrari's know-how in building special limited-series sports cars combined with, of course, its racing experience. It will provide the basic framework on which the specifics of future extreme models will be worked out. The exceptionally powerful FXX delivers absolutely blistering performance on all fronts."But there will absolutely no chance that one of the 20 or so participants will be able to take this up to the country club to show their buddies, or even around a track to give sane people a laugh. This is because the FXX has not been homologated for road use and thus will not be a competition model. "It will be used exclusively on the track as part of a specific ongoing research and development program."It must be noted that they will be able to impress or scare one person at a time, since the FXX can be had with a second seat.For sure the drivers will enjoy the limited time they'll have in the FXX, since it's powered by "an imposing 6.2-litre V-12 engine that "can punch out over 800 hp at 8,500 rpm. Its gearbox is the result of the transfer of F1 strategies, delivering gear change times of under 100 ms. This is almost as fast as the F1 single-seaters, themselves the absolute pinnacle of current technological achievement."The FXX's aerodynamic design is said to be "particularly innovative, too, as it has resulted in a shape that produces 40 percent higher downforce than ever achieved before. It is also possible to adjust the FXX's mobile spoiler configuration to suit the specific circuit.