Ferrari’s FXX-K has evolved with a more extreme Evo version – is this the ultimate trackday tool?

Maranello, Italy –

The Ferrari FXX-K is a brilliantly named car. Partly because it gives editorial types like us endless scope for punny headlines, but also because the name is so appropriate. “FXX-K!” is probably the most appropriate response to a 1,050hp from a 6.3-litre V12 with electrical-assistance.

The original FXX-K which is apparently too tame for some people…

That was two years ago, and now it’s become even faster, thanks to updates that turn it into the FXX-K Evo. As is the case with all special edition Ferraris, production of this will be *extremely limited*, though the company has not disclosed specific numbers.

If you’re fortunate enough to already own an FXX-K though, there won’t be a need to compete with other interested buyers, as the Evo package will also be available as an upgrade.

So how has the FXX-K evolved? Well it’s no more powerful than before, for starters. The V12 engine itself provides 860hp at a screaming 9,200rpm, while the electric motor produces a further 190hp. If that doesn’t impress you, just remember this: the FXX-K is more powerful than Ferrari’s own F1 car.

So while the FXX-K Evo doesn’t go any faster in a straight line, it now turns much harder; the majority of the changes are to the car’s aerodynamic package. The most prominent change is at the rear where, complementing the active rear spoiler, there is now a dual-tier fixed wing which is connected to the roof and engine cover by a Le Mans Prototype-style “shark fin”. Before, there were just a pair of small winglets at the sides above the tail lamps, working together with that active spoiler.

The bumpers have also been reprofiled, the space underneath the headlights in front hollowed out to make space for canards and an extra air intake, and the vents below the taillights massively enlarged to better channel the wake coming off the rear wheels and protect airflow to the rear diffuser.

All in, that adds up to a 23 percent increase in downforce over the “regular” FXX-K, and a whopping 75 percent more than the road legal LaFerrari on which it’s based. In hard numbers, that means 640kg at 200km/h, and more than 830kg at its (unquoted) top speed. Let that sink in for a moment – that’s a small hatchback’s weight in air pushing down on the car at speed.

Such astonishing downforce levels is almost equal to that of a GT3-class racing car, but unfortunately the FXX-K Evo is not homologated to race in any championship. Instead it’s a product of Ferrari’s XX Programme, which allows customers to play prototype test driver, and help share development of “technologically-innovative content” with Ferrari’s engineers in what the company calls “closed-wheel laboratories”.

Unsurprisingly, such a specialised and unique programme is not open to your normal Joe 488 GTB or Portofino buyer. Rather, the XX Programme is reserved for Ferrari’s most dedicated and loyal customers. Many of them remain anonymous, but sources close to the matter say that there is in fact one Singaporean in the Programme.