Rare Rides: A 2008 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, With the Worst Interior Colors Ever
Today’s Rare Ride is a big, front-engine V12 Ferrari in the company’s fine grand tourer tradition. While its exterior color is nothing to write home about, its interior is absolutely a one-off.
Once you get a look at it you’ll see why.
The 599 GTB Fiorano was introduced for the 2007 model year, as an awkwardly-styled replacement for the outgoing awkwardly-styled 575 Maranello. The 599’s styling was part of a push toward finely-honed aerodynamics, and increased use of technology in a Ferrari GT car.
For the first time, Ferrari implemented an aluminum chassis in its GT offering, in place of the steel tubular setup used previously. The new design meant a more rigid structure and a lower weight. The 599’s body was designed by Pininfarina and included venturi tunnels and underbody spoilers to increase downforce. Flying buttress C-pillars pushed the car downward even more firmly. There was so much downforce generated by the 599 at speed that a rear spoiler was no longer necessary.
Powering all 599s was Ferrari’s 6.0-liter V12, which became a favorite of the company in the early 2000s. In addition to implementation in the 599, the V12 has seen use in the Enzo, FF, F12 Berlinetta, La Ferrari, GTC4 Lusso, 812, and is currently used in the Monza SP1 and SP2. In GTB guise, the engine produced 612 horsepower and 448 lb-ft of torque. Transmissions on offer were a traditional six-speed manual or an automated six-speed paddle-shift manual. A sign of the times, the standard manual transmission proved very unpopular, and only 30 599s were produced with one. With either transmission, 62 miles per hour arrived in 3.2 seconds, and top speed was 205.
During its production, Ferrari altered the 599 slightly with upgrades and created the HGTE handling package and the 599 GTO. GTO was a road-legal version of the 599XX track car. There was later a restyled track version that was even more exclusive, called the 599XX Evoluzione. In 2010 Ferrari debuted the limited-run SA Aperta roadster, also designed by Pininfarina. Production of the various 599 versions wrapped up in 2012, as the coupe made way for the much better looking but awkwardly named F12berlinetta.
Early on in the 599’s run, this particular example was conceived during some absinthe fever dream and specially ordered. One might imagine the request read “a ketchup and mustard interior,” but the idea’s execution was more strawberry sorbet and French’s. Everything clashes, and Ronald McDonald wouldn’t even approve. Coral, yellow, red, black, and carbon fiber singe the retinas unapologetically. This one-of-one 599 is amazingly for sale in Arizona and not Florida, for $169,000.
[Images: Ferrari]
Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.
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Does the dealer throw in the marlin on the wall with the sale?
Wow, there's someone in the world who thinks that the 575M Maranello is "awkwardly styled".