2007 Ferrari 599GTB Fiorano - Road Tests - Car and Driver June 2007 
COUNTERPOINT
BARRY WINFIELD
When asked recently about horsepower levels achieved by Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari officials replied that balance was more important than maximum power. Oh, yeah? This new 599 Fiorano boasts 611 horsepower, only 30 fewer than the
über-Benz SLR McLaren 722 Edition cranks out. Then, having nearly matched those guys on power, Ferrari produced a chassis that’s just as civilized but way more sporting. Talk about balance. This thing rotates willingly under power but can be controlled like a good race car. God, I want one.
MORGAN SEGAL
Within the confines of the law, the 599 is rather docile. Where’s the noise, where’s the excitement? Turn the
manettino on the steering wheel to a more aggressive setting, prod the throttle, and you’ve found it. Suddenly, you’re shoved into the seat, the V-12 wails, and shifts crack off with such violence that you wonder if the drivetrain is going to explode. Stab the brakes or turn a corner, and your face contorts with the g-load. Now, how do I raise 300 grand?
2007 Ferrari 599GTB Fiorano - Verdict 1 | 2 |
3 (continued) THE VERDICT
2007 Ferrari 599GTB Fiorano
Highs: Rational enough to use daily, 6.5 pounds per hp, engine supplies continuous listening pleasure.
Lows: Paddle-shift gearbox still not perfect, priced where luxury flirts with insanity.
The Verdict: An Enzo for adults.Select from six tightly spaced gears using the F1-SuperFast transmission paddles, or let the computer shift for you in automatic mode. Ferrari has made continual improvements in the software, but the smooth way is still the manual way. Shift with the paddles while lifting slightly between gears, and the 599 gently eases through traffic. Reverse can be maddening. The aft-mounted transaxle arbitrarily drops into neutral if you’re just feathering the throttle to scootch out of a parking space ($1294 rearview sensors watch your back). Perhaps it’s trying to preserve the clutch, which suffers a hard life. Reversing up a modest grade for 20 feet produced the stale odor of burned friction lining.
Short-stroke screamers don’t generally pack much torque in the basement. But towering intake stacks, variable cam timing, and tubular headers allow the 599 to surge impressively from 3000 rpm even in higher gears. The usable portion of the tach stops at 8200, and lots of living happens in between. Wide open, the engine yowls in fury and the rear squats ruthlessly—with this much power, only wheelie bars could stop it—as the steering goes light and squiggle-prone. Shifts bang home under full throttle, even harder if you switch the steering-wheel selector from sport to race, which also dials back the stability control and stiffens the shocks. It takes a steady hand and full concentration to overtake without shameful weaving. The tension on the throttle is taut; barely relax your foot, and deceleration is abrupt. Few cars let you get this intimate with the controls, or force you to dig this deep for the requisite smoothness to work them.
The carbon-ceramic brakes are a wonder (for $18,550, they should be). Sensitive and progressive from light trail braking to full anti-lock braking, the pedal selects just what your foot desires. More amazing, after 500 miles of hard driving, the 20-inch alloys were still shiny. Has Ferrari developed the cure for brake filth? Hair-trigger sharp and weighted to the lighter side, the steering is as faultless as the brakes. Combine the two, plus that stunning throttle, to make electrifying charges through curves. The horizon stays level, the grip never runs short, and the 599’s prodigiously long body seems to shed inches and pounds as the bulky GT ducks and weaves like a small ragtop. A 161-mph sprint across a desert plain let out its downforce-generating aerodynamics for a run. The car tracked straight and felt thoroughly planted. Try that in a small ragtop!
While returning the 599 to a Los Angeles dealer—the car’s short front overhang is a blessing on driveway ramps—we overheard a salesman quote a half-million-dollar price to a couple of customers. There were no gasps, just nods, the complacent look of lambs in an abattoir. Ferrari says it encourages dealers to sell at sticker and that many longtime customers do pay just that, but the company acknowledges that dealers are independent operations the factory doesn’t control. As long as Ferrari supply trails Ferrari demand, the 599’s window digits are just the ground floor on an elevator going up.
Every day, more deep pockets get chased by more luxury goods, many with nothing other than a fancy name and an inflated price to recommend them. A Ferrari remains a dazzling, lyrical, unique, and authentically exotic pleasure. In a supervised, standardized, government-approved world, that’s hard to find at any price
