|
Prodrive has unveiled
the Ferrari 550 GTO Maranello racing car that will compete for the
first time at the Silverstone
on May 13.
Work started on the project on 2 January this year and, in just 16
weeks, Prodrive has designed, built and run the
new car.
"The team here at Prodrive has literally been working non-stop since
the New Year to get this car ready," said
George Howard-Chappell, team
principal, "The initial tests have been very promising, but I do not
expect us to be on
the pace at very first race. By the middle of the
season, we should be far more competitive and beginning to secure
some
good results."
The team's drivers - Alain Menu, Rickard Rydell and Peter Kox - are
currently undertaking an intensive period of
testing prior to
Silverstone but, due to time constraints, Prodrive will be using the
first two races as an extension to
the development programme.
The racing car is based on the original 550 Maranello road car's
monocoque chassis, but with almost every
component modified. Despite
this, Prodrive designer Peter Stevens, has kept the styling of the
racing car faithful to
the original Pininfarina design, while ensuring
that it will still perform on the track.
The road car's original 1690kg has been trimmed down to 1100kg thanks
to extensive use of carbon fibre bodywork
and lightweight components,
while Prodrive has redesigned the V12 engine to increase power output
from 485bhp to
more than 600bhp. This gives the racing car double the
power to weight ratio of the road car, at around
550bhp/tonne.
With the necessary gearing, the Ferrari 550 GTO could easily exceed
200mph (320kph) but, instead, this power
ensures the car's
aerodynamics, including a substantial rear wing, front splitter and
rear diffuser, dramatically
increase the downforce and improve grip.
The standard six speed H-gate gearbox is replaced by a six-speed
sequential box from Xtrac, while extra wide,
18inch Prodrive P-WRC
wheels and AP racing brakes are housed within the increased front and
rear track.
"We plan to continue development throughout the year and introduce a
second car at round seven in Hungary," said
Chappell. "Following this,
customer specification cars will be available, that can be run in the FIA GT Championship,
as well as potentially the American and European
Le Mans series and the Le Mans 24 Hour itself."
The FIA GT Championship is for road-derived sports cars and features a
front-running mixture of Porsches, Chrysler
Vipers and Lister Storms.
There are also two examples of the 550 Maranello already running, in
the hands of Rafanelli
Motorsport. Rydell will drive the Prodrive
Ferrari 550 GTO Maranello in this year's championship, while Menu will
partner him at Silverstone and then in three further rounds. Kox will
be standing in for the other three rounds as
Menu's DTM commitments
with Opel take precedence.
Ferrari Official Website
Prodrive Official Website
|
