The Ferrari FXX is a high-performance track only developmental prototype built by Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari. The FXX is based on the street-legal flagship Enzo Ferrari. Production of the FXX began in 2005.
The FXX uses some technology demonstrated on the Enzo Ferrari and combines it with new developments from Ferrari and its suppliers. However, the car is only a part of the overall FXX program. Customers pay GB£2 million, but are only allowed to drive the car on special track days which are approved by Ferrari. After they drive the car, the owners are entitled to be briefed by Ferrari on the car's performance. Ferrari's sister company Maserati, has developed a similar car, the MC12 Corsa for this purpose with the only difference being that the owners can keep the car in their custody. The FXX on the other hand, may be stored by owners wherever they please. The caveat behind the FXX is only that Ferrari technicians must look over the car "before the car hits the track in any event or private testing session."
The FXX, an evolution of the Enzo in essence, shares some components with the flagship car, but numerous significant developments are unique to the FXX.
The FXX's engine is based on Enzo's, but displacement has been increased to 6,262.45 cc (6.3 L; 382.2 cu in) from 5,998 cc (6.0 L; 366.0 cu in). Power output has been raised from the Enzo's 660 PS (485 kW; 651 hp) at 7,800 rpm, to 800 PS (588 kW; 789 hp) at 8,500 rpm.
The gearbox incorporates the latest developments from Ferrari's F1 program and has a shift time of under 100 milliseconds. The brake pads were also upgraded from the Enzo. It does, however, retain the Carbon fibre-reinforced Silicon Carbide (C/SiC) ceramic composite brake discs featured on the Enzo. The tyres are custom-developed 19 inch racing slicks.
The FXX has comprehensive data-monitoring and telemetry systems that not only allow the driver to assess their performance on the track, but also provide Ferrari technicians with valuable data to improve the car and future road-going Ferrari models.
Ferrari has built 30 cars in total, adding one special edition to the 29 cars that were originally planned. The original 29 cars have all been sold to pre-selected past Ferrari customers. The 30th car was retained by Ferrari S.p.A. and presented to Ferrari's F1 World Champion driver, Michael Schumacher, along other an Enzo Ferrari when he retired from Formula One racing at the end of 2006 as a token of appreciation for his achievements. Schumacher's FXX differs from others in having black paintwork without stripes, having red trimmed wheels, matte rather than chrome exhaust tips, and his personal logo stitched on the racing seats.
The owners of the FXX also participate in Ferrari's testing and brand development programs. The purpose of this particular program is to allow Ferrari's top customers exclusive access to its most up-to-date technology and to utilise their input in the development of future models.
The model was only sold in Europe. Units can be imported, but not owned, on any other continent. A more aggressive FXX Evoluzione package was introduced in 2009 and was reported to cost €1.5 million (excluding taxes) (2.1 million USD), including the car, the crew and the services provided by Ferrari.
The Ferrari FXX program continued until 2009. The car continued to be improved under the Evoluzione kit, which continually adjusts specifics to generate more power and quicker gear changes, along with reducing the car's aerodynamic drag. The V12 engine under the Evoluzione kit generates 860 PS (633 kW; 848 hp) at 9,500 rpm and enables the car to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 2.5 seconds. Certain changes were made to the gearbox in order to reduce the shift time to 60 milliseconds per shift, a reduction of 20 milliseconds over the original FXX. The car also underwent aerodynamic changes and improvements to the traction control system were made in order to make the car more responsive around the track.
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