The performance car industry was characterized in the mid-2000s by a supercar battle royale that raged between Europe’s most prestigious automotive manufacturers. Porsche’s Carrera GT, the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren , and the Ferrari Enzo were all vying to be crowned king of the supercars. All three were capable of speeds over 200 mph and 0–60 times in the low three-second range, and they looked like nothing else on the road. Nevertheless, only one could be the best, and most agreed that the Enzo was the undisputed champion. As the Enzo was produced in lower numbers than both the Carrera GT and SLR McLaren and it boasted incredible looks with startling performance, many believed it to be the top dog and a car that its company simply would not be able to top for quite some time.

However, Ferrari was not a company to rest on its laurels, and many within the company thought that there was still much that could be improved upon with the Enzo platform. During the summer of 2005, at private, invitation-only events throughout Europe and North America, Ferrari announced to a select few that it would be producing a special track-only car that would be available in limited production to its best customers. The purpose of this car would be to give Ferrari’s most loyal clients the opportunity to develop the next generation of road cars through unprecedented access to Ferrari’s newest automotive technology and engineers. This new car, based on the already-incredible Ferrari Enzo, would provide an insane amount of performance, with a top speed stated at 214 mph.

The FXX was formally announced a few months later in December 2005 at the Bologna Motor Show, and it garnered an incredible amount of attention from both the world’s motoring press and automotive enthusiasts alike. Only 38 examples would be produced, making it one of the rarest cars in the history of the company. For the lucky enthusiasts given a chance to own an FXX, it was almost considered to be a blessing, as they would be given the opportunity to work directly with the factory to help develop future cars bearing the Cavallino Rampante.

Unlike Ferrari’s successful and very well run Challenge Series, the FXX would be run under the Corse Clienti program. This program, equally successful in its own right, was responsible for providing factory support to clients with Formula One Ferraris, and it would play a similar role in the FXX Programme. This would be a non-competitive program, in which owners would be invited, along with their cars, to select events, where they would be able to drive their cars on the track at speed. Like the F1 Clienti program, the factory would provide owners with a team of technicians and engineers for mechanical support and to advise the drivers on how to achieve the best results with their car. These events allowed the owners to improve their driving abilities in a controlled environment through feedback from the industry’s best factory drivers and support staff. The cars would be serviced and maintained by the factory, and owners were even given the opportunity to store their cars at Ferraris facilities in Maranello if they so desired, leaving the company in charge of transporting the cars to and from events.

The FXX presented here, chassis number 145369, was the very first FXX produced. It was ordered new by its first and current owner at the announcement of the program, and at that time, it was established that he would receive the first example built by the factory. Following its delivery, the car has only been used in three Corse Clienti events, at the inaugural FXX event at Homestead-Miami Speedway in April 2006, at the same venue once more in March of 2007, and at Laguna Seca in August 2008. This totals to only six heats over the three Corse Clienti events, with the car logging perhaps three to four hours of track time since new. The color scheme of pearl white with red trim is unique amongst the 37 other FXXs produced, and it is incredibly attractive both at speed and at a standstill.

In early 2008, before it was used at the Laguna Seca Corse Clienti event in August, FXX number 1 was converted to Evoluzione specifications by the factory. Thanks to data, telemetry, and feedback gathered from owners over the first two years of the program, the factory was able to perform a series of upgrades to the car in order to increase every parameter of its performance. The “Evo” upgrades included gear ratios being changed to accommodate the extra 1,000 rpm produced by the engine, which resulted in the gearshifts now taking place in 60 milliseconds and the FXX’s lap time around Fiorano being cut down by two seconds. The upgrades also included modified aerodynamics, an improved and more complex traction-control system, a braking system upgraded with better cooling and ductwork and more durable brake pads, and a rear-camera upgraded in order to provide the driver with increased rearward visibility.

Ownership of a FXX provides its possessor not only with a car of incredible performance but also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work directly with the company that created it through a wholly unique racing experience. There is no doubt that data gained during the FXX program contributed to the development of the revolutionary LaFerrari, as well as numerous other cars in the marque’s current lineup and perhaps future models in the years to come. Despite the unveiling of the LaFerrari and its Corse Clienti sibling, the FXX K, the FXX Programme will continue for the 2015 season, with a calendar of events already announced. Both the car and program showcase Ferrari’s unwavering commitment to their customers to produce not only the finest motor cars in the world but to also furnish an entire motoring experience based around an automobile.

With only three Corse Clienti events under its belt, FXX number 1 is ready for many more track days, and it will forever remain a symbol of Ferrari’s ever-evolving performance, technology, and steadfast commitment to its clientele.