Manual Ferrari 599 GTB sold for $682K

Manual Ferraris are always a treat in this paddle-infested world we are living in but would you pay almost $700K for a 2007 599 GTB, just because it has a gated shifter?

Well, one bidder did that, paying $682.000 (about £460.000 or €645.000) for a manual 599 GTB in Amelia Island’s RM Auction, almost half a million more than the estimated $200,000 - $275,000.

The car itself has covered less than 3.800 miles since its delivery from new in Portland, Oregon, making it one of the only 20 manual 599s to exist officially in the United States. Being considered as the last, analog Ferrari V12, the 599 GTB is using essentially a detuned version of the Enzo’s engine, making 620bhp at 7.600rpm with a top speed of 205mph. 

With a black-on-black colour combination, the 599 GTB looks menacing enough, featuring the desirable Daytona-style seats made from Recaro. Its previous owner had it properly stored in a climate-controlled environment to ensure nothing bad will happen to it during its stay with him.

If you think that regular 599 GTBs with the paddle shifter go for about £100K (about $148K or €140K) in the UK and the extreme GTOs fetch around £400-500K (about $592K-740K or €560Κ-700Κ), paying that amount for a regular, manual 599 could only mean two things. Either the market will start to treat the last remaining manual Ferraris as a separate exclusive entity in their line-up, driving prices into ridiculous levels or the fortunate owner of this lovely manual 599 GTB will face a very unpleasant surprise when he decides to calculate again how much is the real cost of the car in the future. 

We understand the exclusivity of it, being 1 of only 20 in the United States but is this rareness really worth $700K? It’s a ‘normal’ 599 after all. 

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Ferrari F620 GT

 The F620 GT, wasn't supposed to come out in the open before February 29, as stated in the company's teaser videos.

However, we don't have to wait that long for our first look at Ferrari's new supercar model as a reader of GTSpitrit was able to take a quick shot of the car during what appears to be some sort of a presentation.

The new model adopts a similar design language to the Ferrari FF with curved fenders and a large grille up front, behind which you'll find what the Italian automaker describes as the most powerful engine ever to be used in a regular production Ferrari.

The new F620GT is believed to share many components with the FF, including an upgraded version of its V12 powerplant.

Ferrari's new supercar, which will take on the likes of the Lamborghini Aventador, will receive its world premiere at the upcoming 2012 Geneva Motor Show in March.

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2012 Ferrari 599XX Evolution

The updated model features a number of technical improvements including an even more potent version of the Enzo-sourced V12 engine due to the adoption of side exhausts that allowed engineers to increase output to 750-horses at 9,000 rpm with a peak torque of 700Nm (516.3 lb-ft). In addition, Ferrari made the final gear ratio shorter to improve acceleration on technical, medium- to high-speed tracks.

The Italian company says that the non-homologated sports berlinetta also sports improved chassis dynamics thanks to an active aerodynamic package integrated with the vehicles’ electronic control systems.

The highlight of the aero package is an active rear wing design with two flaps that rotate electronically to adjust the downforce between the front and rear axles in relation to vehicle speed and the maneuver. According to Ferrari, the active rear wing is triggered automatically according to specific parameters which are integrated with the car’s other control functions (ESP, ABS, SCM and F1-Trac).

The 2012 599XX also gets a modified front splitter and a new rear diffuser featuring a larger surface area and redesigned fences and foot-plates. As a result of these changes, total downforce at 200 km/h (124mph) is boosted to 330 kg (727 pounds) when the flaps are open and 440kg (970 pounds) in the closed configuration.

Finally, the ultimate version of the 599 series gets a new set of Pirelli tires while Ferrari claims to have trimmed 35kg (77 lbs) off the original model.

According to the Italian automaker, the 599XX Evolution laps the Fiorano in just 1 minute and 15 seconds.

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