Spy Shots: Ferrari 599 GTB Spider? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dutch designer Michiel van den Brink doesn't seem to be deterred by adversity. First he set out to pen a modern interpretation of one of the most iconic homologated racing GTs of all time, the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO. Then he actually decided to build his design, basing it on the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, arguably the most dynamically sublime supercar ever to grace tarmac. When the Fiorano's 600-hp Enzo sourced V12 wasn't good enough, he teamed up with tuning house Edo Competition to turn it up to 11 by boring it out to 6.3 liters. The result? 750 horsepower. When Maranello declined to grant him its blessing, he started taking orders anyway from customers seemingly undeterred by the $1.3 million asking price... over the cost of the donor car.

Now that conjecture has begun circulating cyberspace that Ferrari is considering building a small run of convertibles based on the Fiorano, van den Brink has thrown his hat into the ring by unveiling his own design, dubbed the "GT Convertible". A far more convincing and seducing design than the photochops we've seen so far, van den Brink says he'll build it complete with a folding carbon-fiber hard-top for any interested customer.

That's some unfettered ambition, considering we've yet to see an actual copy of the Vandenbrink GTO built, yet despite an undisclosed but undoubtedly high cost for the sublime chop-job, Michiel might start taking orders before you know it.

More details are included in the press release after the jump, where van den Brink alludes to future designs to be based on the Audi R8, Spyker C8 Spyder and Corvette Z06. Oh yes, the future bears promise.

[Source: Vandenbrink Design]

Continue reading Vandenbrink unveils Ferrari 599 GT Convertible design

Vandenbrink unveils Ferrari 599 GT Convertible design originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 19 Dec 2007 12:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When the engine on Massa's or Raikonnen's Ferrari monoposto overheats and catches fire, that's one thing. When the engine on a customer's personal Ferrari GT car goes up in flames, it's an entirely different story, distinguished primarily by the lack of emergency fire marshals and pit crew to handle it when it happens out on the open road.

Pictures are floating around the internet, much to be presumed embarrassment of Ferrari, of a brand-spankin' new 599 GTB Fiorano following a "spontaneous" fire emanated from under the hood. The car was taking part in the Ferrari 60 Relay event passing through the Galician city of Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

Earliest reports indicate that, feeling left out as all those Enzos and 360s were totaled, the 599 lit itself on fire on a bet. Someone ought to have a talk with the other little Ferraris about the dangers of peer pressure.

[Source: Dariomotor and Jalopnik]

Ferrari 599 goes up in flames originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 Apr 2007 17:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

There could hardly be two more different approaches to the exotic supercar than the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano and the Porsche Carrera GT. One's a production Italian gran tourismo with a front-mounted V12, and the other's a rare German targa with a mid-mounted V10. The Ferrari was designed and executed to be easy to drive, while the Porsche is reportedly twitchier than a monkey drinking coffee. As far as exotic sportscars go, they're like apples and oranges.

The question is, which one is faster? The video after the jump has your answer. The two supercars make two runs from a rolling start. One pulls ahead but by the end of the drag strip the second is ahead by a couple car-lengths. Follow the jump to find out which took the checkered flag.

(If you're thinking the Enzo would be a more fitting adversary for the Carrera GT, you're not the only one.)

[Source: German Car Blog]

Continue reading VIDEO: Ferrari 599 GTB vs. Porche Carrera GT

VIDEO: Ferrari 599 GTB vs. Porche Carrera GT originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 19 Feb 2007 19:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Haman the Wicked was an ancient Assyrian viceroy who thought himself better than the King. He had an unquenchable thirst for power and fathered equally wicked sons. History, it seems, has come full circle, and there's a lot in a name. Today it belongs to the German tuning house Hamann that, in its unquenchable thirst for power, aims to better Ferraris - kings of all sportscardom - and as a result produces some seriously wicked offspring of its own.

The latest is a complete tuning package for the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, already hailed as one of the best GTs of all time. Hamann has tweaked an extra 53 horsepower out of the Fiorano's Enzo-derived engine, bringing peak power up to 673 hp, by fitting its own custom header. And in case the wail of the Fiorano's V12 just wasn't cutting it, Hamann also fitted its own exhaust.

Follow the jump to continue reading and for the full press release, or click here for more pics.

Gallery: Hamann Ferrari 599 Fiorano

Continue reading Tuner Tuesdays: Hamann's wicked 673-hp Ferrari 599

Tuner Tuesdays: Hamann's wicked 673-hp Ferrari 599 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 06 Feb 2007 20:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.