Monday, 30 October 2017

Ferrari FXX K Evo: Maranello’s Most FXX’d Up Factory Special Ever

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Fxx-K Evo_09

When it comes to Ferrari’s vaguely LaFerrari–based FXX K, the 1036-hp track-only living prototype that a select few purchased for gajillions of dollars, there are no rules. Literally. The car was developed for maximum on-track performance, and because it’ll never compete in a real racing series, it needn’t conform to any regulations beyond Ferrari’s own expectations. So, naturally, the Scuderia has just introduced an even more insane version, the FXX K Evo, in the midst of the company’s 70th anniversary.

To understand why Ferrari would bother building a higher-performance version of its highest-performance car that very few people can afford—let alone be allowed to buy—and that won’t ever race in a sanctioned competition, you must know that the FXX K is a prototype. Ferrari treats the few cars it built as development mules for future automotive boundary breaking, and it treats its owners as “supercar enthusiasts eager to share the development of technologically innovative content with the Prancing Horse technicians, through driving a closed-wheel laboratory car.”

Ferrari FXX K Evo prototype

Well, now current FXX K owners and a fresh crop of monied “clients” can sign on as de facto test drivers and buy in to an FXX K Evo. (Already own an FXX K? Ferrari will upgrade your car to Evo spec, assuredly for lots and lots of money.) The hybrid supercar’s kinetic energy recuperation system (KERS), electric motor, and V-12 engine are kept the same, which is fine because they combine for 1036 horsepower and in excess of 664 lb-ft of torque. Also remaining the same? The K’s basic bodywork, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, and the first four letters in its name.

Where the Evo evolves, then, is aerodynamics. In place of the “regular” FXX K’s split, nascent rear winglets is a full-width, twin-profile fixed spoiler and a central fin stretching between it and the car’s fuselage. This alone ups the FXX K’s claimed downforce coefficient by 23 percent, bringing the Evo’s advantage over the LaFerrari road car to 75 percent. Vortex generators on the central fin contribute 10 percent of the downforce increase alone, said Ferrari, which also asserted that the rear wing’s twin profiles “support and amplify each other,” further boosting downforce. Other improvements were made to the relationship between the front end’s vertical strakes and horizontal dive planes, underbody elements, and diffuser.

Ferrari FXX K Evo prototype

By 124 mph, the FXX K Evo benefits from 1410 pounds of downforce (a significant increase over the FXX K’s 1190 pounds at the same speed); that figure jumps beyond 1830 pounds at the car’s unspecified “redline speed.” The aerodynamic effects dictated that Ferrari retune the car’s suspension, and the automaker’s engineers even managed to cut some weight from the car despite the additional aero pieces. Cornering performance and high-speed stability, as you might imagine, have improved.

The interior has a new steering wheel and a larger 6.5-inch display to the right of the driver. Does this matter to you? Not now, it doesn’t. But future Ferrari road cars and race cars will certainly benefit from the no-holds-barred rolling playground that is the FXX K. As with the non-Evo cars, the Evos are not street legal and will be curated by a team of engineers and delivered at owners’ requests to tracks of their choosing. No word on price, but then, does that really matter?

Fxx-K-Evo_reeely

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