Upon completing production of its legendary millennial hypercar, the venerable Enzo, Ferrari was left with one daunting challenge—how to possibly improve it. Impressed with the success of the popular Challenge Series, Ferrari and its Corse Clienti division concluded that a market existed for a limited-production track-only Ferrari supercar that wasn’t necessarily intended for racing.

By creating a special customer-offered development car, Ferrari could not only reward loyal buyers, but simultaneously forge a new approach to creating its next benchmark hypercar. These cutting-edge quasi-test cars would be offered only to special preferred clients, who would enjoy a unique experience collaborating with the factory to develop Maranello’s next generation of road cars.

During the summer of 2005, Ferrari privately introduced loyal clients to prototypes of what would become the FXX, largely to gauge interest. The basis for the FXX was of course the Enzo, that instantly identifiable flagship speed machine that distilled Formula 1 technologies and styling into a street-legal road car. The resemblance between the two models is clear in the nose, front wings, and cockpit section, while the FXX features a longer tail treatment with airfoils to add 40 per cent more downforce at speed than the Enzo.

In the form of the FXX, the Enzo’s rear-mounted dry-sump 6.0-litre V-12 was increased to 6.3 litres and retuned to develop 800 PS at a screaming 8,500 rpm. A staggering 506 pound-feet of torque arrived at a comparably modest 5,570 rpm, capable of launching the FXX to 100 km/h from standstill in a shocking 2.7 seconds. The model featured a revised Formula 1 gearbox delivering sub-100-millisecond shifts, which transmitted power via a sophisticated traction-control system, taking the FXX to a hair-raising top speed of 345 km/h. Needless to say, these performance metrics remain strongly competitive even 20 years later.

Stopping power was further developed from the Enzo, with the former model’s Brembo carbon-fiber-reinforced silicon-carbide-ceramic-composite disc brakes revised with an all-new brake-pad design and custom-designed cooling elements. Tyre technology was also addressed with new proprietary 19-inch slicks from Bridgestone. Of course, as the FXX was envisioned as a test-bed program, collecting data was of paramount importance, so the model was equipped with a new Magneti-Morelli dash panel with onboard telemetry instruments that recorded performance data in real time.

Formally introduced to the public at the 2005 Bologna Motor Show, the FXX was initially allocated for a smattering quantity of just 29 examples, although a 30th car was given to Scuderia Ferrari champion driver Michael Schumacher upon his retirement from Formula 1 in 2006. A small number of post-production units built for a handful of favored clientele then brought total production to approximately 38 cars, giving the FXX an extraordinary level of rarity, even by the standards of a modern Ferrari flagship. Particularly notable today as we celebrate the FXX Programme’s 20th anniversary, the FXX is not merely notable as one of Ferrari’s most ferocious track-only speed machines, but as a unique development car that paved the way for successive thoroughbred hypercars such as LaFerrari and the current F80.

MY BLU HEAVEN

Chassis number 161517 is the third-to-last car built, and was sold new in Rosso Corsa to a collector based in Hong Kong. The car was initially decorated with race #88 and of course retained by the factory with the other FXX examples for owners to retrieve for Corse Clienti FXX-programme events.

Chassis 161517 was delivered new in full Evo specification, which included a remapped engine management for a bump in power, new transmission software for even quicker shifts, improved traction control and onboard telemetry, and revised bodywork for even more downforce compared to the standard version. This FXX entered The Tailored For Speed Collection in 2020, with the race number now changed to #60 and a Blu Corsa Opaco wrap to coordinate the colour scheme with the other XX cars. The car has only been driven in a small handful of Corse Clienti events, with the most recent outing being at the 2024 Finali Mondiali at Imola. After that event, Ferrari has prepared a detailed technical report that is available on file.

Displaying 2,711 kilometres on its odometer at the time of cataloguing, this thunderously powerful Ferrari development special offers track thrills beyond compare, inviting the next caretaker to indulge in visceral hot laps, or beam with pride at important exhibition opportunities. It is undeniably one of Ferrari’s most celebrated modern masterpieces.