Sebastian Vettel needed a second-placed finish at the Mexican GP to keep his championship hopes alive. Upon hearing the news that third-placed Kimi Raikkonen was a further 23 seconds up the road from him and the number of laps remaining fast running out, his reaction was priceless.
“Mama Mia,” the steady German replied.
We only mention this, because upon seeing the new Ferrari FXX K Evo over the weekend, our collective reaction was equally pithy. A 1,036bhp, harder version of the track-only FXX K that bullies the air around it into submission? Mama Mia indeed.
The Evo is a development of the Ferrari FXX K, which is a weird sentence to say because not once in its lifetime have we ever thought, ‘yeah, that could do with a bit of tweaking’. But tweak it Ferrari has.
The headline to zero in on is the increased downforce over the ‘regular’ FXX K, thanks to a raft of changes including a new fixed rear wing with many cool things. Here, we want to take a moment to comprehend the Evo’s numbers. We suspect you might too.
Three-point harnesses all bolted up? Good. Let’s begin…
How much power does it have?
It produces 1,036bhp, and over 900Nm of torque from a 6.3-litre V12 and electric motor. The V12 alone pumps out just under 850bhp and 750Nm of torque, while the motor adds a further 187bhp. Add that all together and you get a big number not afraid to keep you awake at night in a cold sweat. (And yes, it’s exactly the same as the regular FXX K. Deal with it – you really don’t need any more power.)
It’s channelled through a seven speed F1 dual-clutch gearbox to simply monster 20in, 345-section rear wheels. The fronts, incidentally, are 19s.
How much downforce does it have?
Ah, the Evo’s party piece. If bullying the surrounding air can be called a ‘party’. It produces 640kg at 200kph, and over 830kg at the car’s top speed. Ferrari tells us the downforce available on the Evo is 23 per cent more than the FXX K, and a whopping 75 per cent more than LaFerrari is able to muster.
Breaking it down, the rear setup alone – wing, vanes and the like – adds ten per cent additional downforce. Then there are changes to the rear arches to better channel wake, adding a further boost of five per cent downforce.
The front redesign adds ten per cent over the FXX K, using tricks Ferrari learned in its GT racing programme.
Finally, vortex generators on the Evo’s underbody create an extra 30 per cent of downforce over the FXX K.
How fast is it?
We can’t say, because Ferrari hasn’t revealed any acceleration or lap time data. But we suspect the time starts with ‘VERY’ and ends in ‘FAST’. The FXX K managed to scorch a time around Ferrari’s private Fiorano test track in just 1m 14s, which is five seconds faster than the road-going LaFerrari.
So with the additional downforce and trick aero, we suspect the FXX K Evo might even dip into the 1m 13s…
Mind you, it has plenty of electronic assistance, as one would expect of an XX car. There’s F1 traction control, Ferrari’s third-generation e-diff, high-po ABS and electronic brake distribution, and reconfigured dampers.
How much does it weigh?
Again, no specific data from Ferrari. It only notes that using experience from Formula 1, and adopting much carbon fibre, it managed to produce a car lighter than the FXX K, even with that new wing.
Now consider that the FXX K itself shed around 90kg from LaFerrari to weigh in at around 1,255kg…
That lighter-than-1255kg figure is split via a 41 per cent front/59 per cent rear distribution. It measures in at 1.1m tall, with a wheelbase of 2.66m, if you’re really interested.
How many will be built?
Err, we’re not really fulfilling this brief of providing you with ‘all the numbers’ here, are we? Sorry. No figure from Ferrari. But again, consider that only 40 FXX K models were built. This one will be produced as a standalone, or an upgrade to your regular FXX K. Expect a similarly tiny output. And expect them to be sold out either now, or sharpish.
How much?
Enough with the questions. And anyway, if you have to ask…