Ferrari 499P Modificata is a 870hp track toy that costs €5.1m and is built for mortals
Ferrari has announced a new version of its Le Mans-winning hypercar. It’s called the 499P Modificata, and in a rather incredible turn of events it’s not actually being built for racing drivers.
Let us explain. You know how Ferrari has its XX and F1 Clienti programmes where very, very wealthy Toms, Dicks and Harrys buy bonkers sports cars like the FXXK or old Scuderia F1 cars, which are then shipped around the world to different racetracks for the owners to drive?
Well, the 499P Modificata starts a new branch of exactly that, with the programme set to be known as Sport Prototipi Clienti. Yep, regular folk are going to be able to buy these things. Incredible.
We’re told the Le Mans Hypercars will share circuits such as Suzuka and the Nürburgring with old F1 cars when the Sport Prototipi Clienti programme kicks off in 2024, which should make for quite the spectacle.
Oh, and because they’re non-competitive track toys for the insanely wealthy, Ferrari doesn’t have to worry about those pesky Balance of Performance regulations. As a result, it has turned up the wick a little. Yep, it’s taken the 2022 Le Mans 24hrs winner and made it faster, just in time for members of the general public to drive it.
It’s not the 296 GT3-derived 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 that has been modified here though. Instead, it’s the electric motor on the front axle which is now more powerful and drives the front wheels at all times.
You see, regulations for the World Endurance Championship state that the electric assistance can only come into play at speeds of over 190km/h, whereas the Modificata is four-wheel drive from a standstill.
Total combined power is now a huge 870hp, although that full amount is only deployed when the driver uses the new ‘Push to Pass’ button that’s mounted on the back of the steering wheel and lasts for seven seconds at a time. Without that in play you’ll ‘only’ have 707hp.
Still, all of the other internals are pretty much exactly as they were in the Le Mans winner, so you get a full carbon monocoque chassis, a seven-speed sequential gearbox, push-rod suspension (which has been tweaked to make the car a little more friendly), a proper brake-by-wire system and an F1-derived 800-volt battery pack.
You also get exactly the same styling/aero as the ‘standard’ 499P, and we’re told the interior only gets the addition of a digital rear-view mirror and a slightly wider seat. Well, we can’t all be as lean as racing drivers.
One big difference from the actual race car though is the bespoke rubber. While Michelins were used at Circuit de la Sarthe, these Pirelli slicks have been designed to warm up quicker before offering more “predictable handling”. Sounds sensible.
Ferrari hasn’t disclosed how many Modificatas it intends to build, but we are told that it’s a “strictly limited-series car” that’ll be reserved for the brand’s “most valued and special customers”.
They’ll be its deepest pocketed customers too, because each Modificata is set to cost €5.1 million before taxes. Yikes. That list price does cover the cost of the car and two years of the Sport Prototipi Clienti programme though, as well as all maintenance and your own engineering team at each circuit.
Plus, consider that this is the current Le Mans champ and it actually starts to look like *whisper it* kind of decent value.
And yes, we do hate ourselves for saying that about something that costs FIVE MILLION EUROS.
STORY Greg Potts
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