You’re flicking through the brochure of the £202,679 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano F1 you’re about to order and wondering whether to tick the £13,960 Handling Gran Turismo Evoluzione (HGTE) package box. To tick, or not to tick?
Nice choice to have, first of all. Very nice. The sort of choice we’d all like to have. This is probably the greatest GT car in the world, ever. Enzo-based V12 in the nose, F1 gearbox and trick electronic diff, decent space for occupants and luggage and 0-100mph in 7.4 seconds.
That’s not a typo: 2.6 seconds less than 10 seconds to get to 100mph, not 60mph – and 0-100mph in 10 is shattering. Be in no doubt that this is an utterly, phenomenally fast car. The HGTE package adds the final touch of raw edge, aesthetics, athletics, exclusivity, noise and general don’t-mess-with-me hardness. And a few crucial milliseconds less gearshift time.
Stiffer springs and rear anti roll-bar, new settings for the adaptive shock absorbers, lower ride height, bespoke tyres, software changes for the F1 box (you can’t have the HGTE with the standard manual transmission), louder exhaust (YouTube search ‘Ferrari 599 with HGTE upgrade’ to hear it), sharper throttle response, a set of new 20in split-rim wheels and some carbon fibre bits and trim changes inside are the highlights – Ferrari reckons 70 per cent of 599 customers worldwide will go for it.
But do you really need it? Well, yes, because it’s the ultimate 599, and that’s that. We nabbed the car straight after the Goodwood Festival of Speed and took it out on British roads before any other magazine could get their mitts on it. It is a sensational car by any measure – simple to drive, easy to see out of, tractable and friendly at all speeds. And blindingly fast. But on the nasty ruts and snags of London’s streets, and later in the Essex countryside, the ride is hard, and even with the steering wheel-mounted manettino set on ‘normal’ it really slams the bumps through your bones.
Later, we weren’t 100 percent happy with the handling on the track, but a lot of that was to do with semi-bald tyres that Ferrari kindly fitted in order for us to burn. But there was something else too, a slightly weird shift of momentum and balance that had us scratching our heads. Still fantastic, but slightly unnerving.
That won’t matter to the lucky person who’ll want to be seen in the very latest and greatest and most expensive Ferrari of all. For me, I would have this strong, hugely characterful car tomorrow and keep it forever and drive it every day. Er, just lend me the £202,679 for the standard car, thanks – won’t be needing that extra 14 grand for the HGTE box tick. Ta.
Read the Aston Martin V12 Vantage blog.
Read the KTM X-Bow blog.
Read the Porsche 911 GT3 blog.
Read the Audi R8 V10 blog.
x
it looks good and it should be fast whats wrong with it
i think it is worth the extra money
It looks way to much like a viper in my opinion.
If your that worried about lap times, get the F430 Scuderia, otherwise I see no point in the HGTE.
I Am Hugely Impressed With This Car, I Drove To Ferrari Headquarters Recently To Meet The Chairman Of Ferrari, I Love This Car! I Took The Test Drive! The Handling Is Slightly Salty, But I Wouldnt Go Further And Say More About This Car Because In Order To Feel The Astonishing Power And Response Of This You Would Have To Drive It! It Is Absolutely Amazing!
According to the video, it did about 1.25.
So between Audi R8 and BMW M3.
But slower than the Ferrari 599GTB with a time of 1.21.2
You guys need to add a timer to the bottom right of the video so we can see the time it took.
Also I would love to drive one of these, it looks astonishing and the performance is pretty much top notch.
sigh: according to the video the hgte is about 4 secs slower.
The gearbox seems to be as smooth as being kicked in the groin by Wayne Rooney. Thanks, but no thanks. Overpriced, ugly, poser-racer.
The only reason it’s slower is because Stig didn’t have the practice he needed and this particular car was fitted with rubbish tyres.
I dont think it it worth that money. While Stig drives around these supercars, I want to make a challenge for Jeremy Clarkson, James May, Richard Hammond and producers of the show. Everyone who wants to see how looks supercar building for reasonable budget should join me and others.We demand TG to make this as a challenge in new 14th season!!!
I see a lot of people are saying the HGTE is slower than the standard 599, well the HGTE didn’t actually set a lap time.
This quote from TG mag explains everything: ‘This car was fitted with rubbish tyres that we were allowed to destroy. Stig did not know this, so he stopped and hopped out halfway through the lap. He said simply: rear end light as a squirrel. That was the tyres. Sorry.’
Hope this helped.
How can this be:
“probably the greatest GT car in the world”
if
“…even with the steering wheel-mounted manettino set on ‘normal’ it really slams the bumps through your bones.”
You Pay For What You Get.
I’m sorry but those wheels are just awful. I honestly prefer the previous ones which used to be fitted in the standard 599. That really spoils it for me.
More important and basic stuff such as better headlamps would be great, instead of fiddling even more with such a bonkers engine. It’s just unnecessary in my opinion.
Looks just like an ordinary sports car!
why make it £14,000 more if you cant distinguish it from an ordinary 599? Put a bodykit or a rear spoiler on it or something. And this GT car thing with the 599; they already have the 612 which is a GT car, why did they make one in the 599??????
dear god it looks pretty
but furthermore it looks just like an ordinary sports car…
to post 7, did you see the oversteer on the exit of the only corner you got to see it go around from the external camera? and the Vantage video? the 1:25ish is a fun lap not a timed lap i think because in the Vantage video the rear of the car was never really in line with the front. i would still prefer a 612 Scaglietti HTGE.. i am probably the only person in the world to like the look of the 612…
like the scud better.more focused
How much horsepower has it got?
I think it did the track in about 1:25 which isn’t really THAT quick?!?
California is a better GT car.
The only humps and bumps going on in the car is when the positions we get into while in the car. If ya know what I mean.
I agree with CRobbo. I can’t see the increased price being worth it. I can only see a true 599 lover dishing out the extra just for the top model. If you’re a fan of maserati here is an interesting video for you, er.. possibly a sad one
http://www.cnn.com/video/ #/video/us/2009/08/14/del ozier.maserati.cash.KUSA
Does anyone know the make of the broken down rental car that Jim Carrey drove that featured in the film The Mask. A similar car was also shown on top gear. I think it’s an east european car.
It’s not bout the money really. 7% of the car value isn’t too much for a real 599 costumer. The question is, is it worth it to spoil the every-day-use smoothness for a little, only scientifically measurable, extra performance? Is it worth to make the 599 a harsh real-world-driving car? I think it isn’t. Go for a real track-like Ferrari instead.
If you are buying the car as a trackday special, then the hgte pack makes sense.
If you are buying the car to drive on UK roads, it really, really doesnt.
I suspect on a country B road there would be nothing between the two anyway in real driving conditions, but the driver of the non hgte car wont need to see a chiropractor at the end of the journey.
Rock hard suspension and track day performance is what souped up 430′s do, the 599 is supposed to be a grande tourer is it not?
to post 23 and all saying it did around a 1:25, it would have done it faster had the car been fitted with fresher rubber and also, as seen on the first video upload, the stig didn’t powerslide out of every corner… its not a lap for a time, its a lap for fun i think.
@21 I hated the 612 when it first came out, but after time has past I do agree with you; the 612 is way better GT. Did any one noticed the under steer in the video. Out of the first 5 videos the GT3 is the only one that did not understeer…the way I saw it.
Apart from the Enzo, the Ferrari 599 is my favourite Ferrari. Yellow looks hideous on a Ferrari (actually it looks pretty bad on all cars) red is much better. But I don’t like it as much as the Audi R8 V10 though.
Ferrari has been shaking the ugly stick at their cars for too long. as technically accomplished as this car is, why is it so ugly?
Also if this has the Enzo engine and clever F1 gearbox trickery, then why does it need a tuning/handling package? Sounds like Ferrari have got into the habit of squeezing extra bucks for something you as the driver won’t notice unless your flying round a track. The first Ferrari 465GT was the best looking 4 seater they made and that was it. As for being a grand tourer, I would rather a DB9! Far better looking and with none of the pretense!
If I had the choice to make, I wouldn’t go for the Ferrari at all. In stead I would order a DBS with a nice and proper manual gearbox.
It’s a footballers car, Ronaldo had an ordinary 599GTB, he crashed that, the only thing the HGTE will do any better is drain your wallet…
the 599 has a 6.0 litre v12 from a enzo and it’s more comfortable and less expensive.motoring heaven
Can I have the Audi instead please?
How many more packages will it take to make the 599 exciting?
And how did Ferrari let Alfa walk off with the stunning 8C design and let Pininfarina give them this rehash of the Mitsubishi Eclipse?
Even as a current Ferrari owner and fan, I would still have to take the drop-dead gorgeous AM Vantage 12 over this.
it looks good but i would rather have a murcielago or a granturismo
bullfighter what ferrari do you own?
idem
Я бы еще кое-что добавил конечно же, но в общем-то по сути сказано практически все.
nice car a’lamborghini i have wan in mine garge
Хм… Ну у вас или талант писать, либо это скопипастено откуда-то!
Даа… Ну у вас или талант писать, или это скопировано откуда-то!
Глубокоуважа мые, а можно оставлять комментарии дейтвительно по теме, а не разную глупость типа Автор молодец и т.д.
С большинством Ваших сообщений я не согласен, но этот пост понравился
Информации, думаю, и так достаточно, чтобы сделать вывод, как не надо делать.
Я это уже на другом сайте видел, но все равно спасибо.
Привет, прикольный блог, буду читать
Интересная идея, но надо бы подумать о количестве реламы на блоге. По-моему ее слишком много
Хотя, конечно – это не мое дело 
Это я уже читал на другом сайте. Досвиданья.
Круто! Нет ну правда, просто слов нет!
С превеликим удовольствие читаю все ваши статьи. Продолжайте писать обязательно. Андрей, Татарстан.
Занятная статья, по моему мнению что вам нужно в какие нибудь журналы специальные писать
Даужж никогда не думал об этом …
Всем привет, Я не стану говорить на эту тему.
хорошее начало
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