While the famous Italian designer is keeping the rest of the details under wraps, the one-off supercar is believed to be based either on the 599 GTB Fiorano or the 599 GTO with some claiming it may feature a similar rotating central-piece roof to the 2005 Ferrari 575 Superamerica. The bespoke, open-top supercar will probably be powered by a stock 6.0-liter V12 engine, though it is difficult to say what other elements will be kept untouched, as we're talking about a vehicle built to customer specifications.
Well, Simon is back, only this time he's taking on something a little more exotic than public transport: he's envisioning the next generation of Ferrari's legendary Enzo. An ambitious task, though one the Hungarian takes on with a plomb.
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However, we're happy to report that the build is still underway. And there’s more: thanks to an update on a dedicated Facebook page, we can show you pictures depicting key moments of the assembly, available after the jump.
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The announcement was made by Ferrari's chairman Luca di Montezemolo during the media presentation of the 'green' 599 GTB Fiorano Hybrid at this week's Geneva Motor Show.
"This is a first step of a long project and we want within three years, maximum four, to have a hybrid Ferrari car ready for every single product of our range. This is our goal," said Montezemolo. "In three years we aim to cut emissions by a minimum of 35 percent."
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The hybrid system found in the 599 GTB prototype comprises of an electric motor coupled to the rear of the dual-clutch 7-speed F1 transmission and a set of flat lithium-ion batteries positioned below the floorpan of the car inside the aerodynamic underbody.
Photos aside, we asked around and our sources gave us some inside information on the hybrid system featured on the 'green' 599 concept model.
The system comprises of an electric motor producing somewhere around 100 horsepower and 137Nm (110 lb-ft) of torque that is attached on the back-end of the rear-mounted transmission, and a battery pack located under the floor.
The wealthy American approached Ferrari in 2008 to produce a modern reinterpretation of the gold-coloured 1965 Ferrari 250GT NART Spyder featured in a 1968 Fellini short film called "Toby Dammit".
"I had always dreamed of designing sports cars," Walson explains, "and when I saw this film the decision came of its own accord: one day I would have 'my' Ferrari." And well, he did.
In case you didn't notice, the Ferrari P540 Superfast Aperta is based on the 599 GTB Fiorano. The car was designed by Pininfarina and built in Maranello, with Ferrari claiming that Walson was directly involved in each stage of its development.
According to the Italians, while considerable effort went into strengthening the chassis after the roof was chopped off, the increase in weight was kept down to just 20 kg or 44 pounds by employing carbon-fibre extensively.
Ferrari said that from the initial sketches to the final, road-legal car, it took just 14 months to complete the project.
Those of you with a strong memory may remember that we first showed you the P540 Superfast Aperta earlier this year, though then, we didn't know any details about the one-off Prancing Horse model.
Technical specifications
Length 4731 mm
Width 1954 mm
Height 1300 mm
Wheelbase 2750 mm
Front track 1690 mm
Rear track 1620 mm
Engine
65° V12
Displacement 5999 cc
Maximum power 456 kW (620 CV) at 7600 rpm
Maximum torque 608 Nm (62 kgm) at 5600 rpm
Transmission
F1 6-speed gearbox
Tyres
Front 245/35 20"
Rear 305/35 20"
Fuel consumption
Combined cycle 17.9 l/100 km
CO2 emissions
Combined cycle 415 g/km
If we were to follow the norm, we’d say that since Aston Martin, Porsche and quite possibly, Lamborghini, are preparing to introduce a new bunch of sporty four-door coupe models, then it would be only logical that Ferrari would do the same, thus justifying these renderings that were made by a Russian designer called Krasnov Igor. But we won’t. We’ve heard of no such thing as a four-door Ferrari and we seriously doubt that the Prancing horse will ever make a car like this, especially in the presence of Maserati. -ContinuedAs for the Ferrari four-door coupe proposal, our opinion –and feel free to disagree with us- is that Krasnov will have to try much harder next time as we fail to see anything inspiring or beautiful about this design.
Source: Cardesign , Via: Worldcarfans
You know that something’s definitely changing in the automotive world when Ferrari decides to show off a biofuel-powered concept. Based on the F430 Spider, the prototype is equipped with a V8 engine that runs on biofuel E85 which was developed with using experience gained in competition. In particular, Formula 1’s technical regulations demand that petrol (gasoline) with 5.75% biomass-derived content must be used, while the FIA GT and American Le Mans Series (ALMS) where Ferrari took part with the F430 GT2 in 2007, use fuels with 10% ethanol. -ContinuedAccording to Ferrari, certain modifications were made to the F430 V8’s fuel feed system and most importantly to the engine CPU to allow the engine use E85. Developing the CPU, two fuels (Flex Fuel) can be used by the engine with the same compression ratio. All of the other technical characteristics have remained unchanged with respect to a standard production engine, however. The use of this type of biofuel and the modifications made resulted in an increase in maximum power output (+ 10 hp at the same rpm) and torque (+ 4%) while overall weight was unchanged. The advantages to the environment translate into a 5% drop in CO2 emissions
