New Ferrari 599 in the works

Current Ferrari 599 GTO

Ferrari is working very hard on the replacement for its awesome 599 GTB. The new car is slated to come out sometime in 2012, so soon we can expect to start seeing spy pictures.

There is a very good chance that the new car will be the most powerful road car ever to have been built in Maranello. “If you look at where we went from the F430 to the 458, and from the 612 Scaglietti to the FF, it is not hard to see where we want the next 599 to be," said one insider close to the project. “We are not looking for a small step."

The 599’s replacement will be powered by a 6.3-litre V12 engine, used in the new FF. This engine was originally used in the Ferrari Enzo, before it was modified for the 599 and eventually the FXX. When this motor found its way into the FXX, it churned out an incredible 633kW. So it is very possible that the next 599 could easily breach the 700HP barrier.

The new car is also expected to be put on a diet, featuring new structural and detailed engineering design to ensure it is lighter than the current car. However the Italian firm will not use carbon fiber for the body, instead it will use an alloy monocoque body. This is in contrast to what Lamborghini and McLaren are doing but Ferrari believes that carbon fiber is not yet suitable for the production volume required for the new vehicle.

Ferrari say that it will remain rear-wheel-drive, with the four-wheel-drive system only being used for the company’s grand touring cars, which doesn’t include the 599. It is expected that the four-wheel-drive system will be used in one other car, believed to be the next-generation California.