2010 Ferrari Challenge at MMP: The sights and sounds of the Ferrari 599XX

Without a doubt, the highlight of our trip to Miller Motorsports Park for the Ferrari Challenge this past weekend was seeing the brand new 599XX on track. This is only the second and last time the cars will be in North America for 2010, so it was a special treat to see the cars driven in anger. We gushed earlier about how beautiful the cars look in person, but there's nothing like seeing a 599XX fly down the front straight then hearing the transaxle pull off successive downshifts before the car dives into turn one.

Audio and visuals aside, part of the intrigue of watching the 599XX is knowing how much incredible technology is in the car. For example, there are fans in the back of the car that pull air from the underside and out of ducts near the taillights to increase downforce. How much? The 599XX produces 1,389 pounds of downforce at 186 mph, and after looking through our photos we could actually see the rear spoiler at work, turbulent air swirling up behind the car. There are nine different traction control settings, the 6.0-liter V12 can rev to 9,000 rpm and the new sequential gearbox can bang off shifts in a mere 60 milliseconds.

Of course, we knew we could never get away with just showing you photos (which we have plenty of in the gallery below). So we brought out a video camera to capture some footage of the 599XX on track. Turn up the volume and follow the jump to enjoy the wail of a Ferrari V12.

Photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright ©2010 Weblogs, Inc.

The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience.