Category: Exotic Sports 
Price Range: £197,673 to £197,673
Hugely fast with sensational acceleration; enormous grip with foolproof, friendly handling and fine feedback; looks terrific and sounds even better; good ride and great usability
Handbrake needs a hefty tug; some early build-quality glitches on test car; will be very expensive
Here's the ultimate front-engined supercar, a car that makes a Mercedes SLR McLaren feel aloof and clumsy. Quicker than an F40 yet a hundredth as frightening, the 599 GTB is a towering achievement, a new benchmark and the fastest-accelerating car we have ever driven on the road
Approx £170,000. On sale in UK October
Let some numbers set the scene. Maximum speed over 205mph. 0-62mph in 3.7 seconds, 0-124mph in 11 seconds, standing-start kilometre in under 20 seconds. The V12 engine, derived from the Enzo Ferrari's, delivers 620bhp - 40bhp down on the Enzo's figure but who's complaining? - and can rev to a manic 8,400rpm.
Oh, and CO2 emissions are 490g/km - so no cheap road tax for the 599 GTB Fiorano, then.
The 599 replaces the 575 Maranello. It weighs 50kg less thanks to its aluminium chassis and body (made by Scaglietti, like those of the F430 and 612) and it features terrific new technology, some of which has filtered down from Formula One.
Specifically, it has F1-Trac (a new traction and stability system), F1-Superfast (a yet-quicker gearshift system in the F1 paddle-shift gearbox) and magneto-rheological suspension dampers. These contain a fluid which becomes more viscous if a magnetic field is applied around the damper. Result: near-instantly-reacting adaptive dampers with no moving parts. Taken together, these three technologies make for a stunningly satisfying drive.
Other technical stuff? That drive experience is helped by placing 53% of the weight over the rear wheels, achieved by setting the engine well back in the chassis with the gearbox, in usual Ferrari front-engine style, mounted at the back and linked to the engine by a rigid tube. A twin-plate clutch reduces rotational inertia which helps those ultra-speedy gearshifts, and a dry-sump engine lubrication system lets the engine sit very low in the chassis. All four camshafts have variable valve timing and are driven by a single chain instead of the belt used in the 575 Maranello engine.
