Sexy sheetmetal, musical engine noise, hand-crafted interiors, and the emblem of a black horse prancing on a yellow background. Whether you see them up close or have one fly past you on the highway, there's no mistaking any of these Ferrari hallmarks.

Ferrari 599 GTB

Ferrari used the backdrop of the 56th annual Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, held August 20, to debut its new 599 GTB coupe for North American audiences. The Concours brought throngs of wealthy auto lovers to California's Monterey Peninsula and the exclusive Pebble Beach Resort. While they may already own a Ferrari (or two or three), these well-heeled buyers couldn't help but grin like the proverbial kid in a candy store when they laid their eyes on the 599's bright paint and their hands on the carbon fiber steering wheel. The company let Consumer Guide into its owners-only tent at the Concours for an inside look at its latest high-performance machine.

Thoroughbred GT
The 599 GTB is a Grand Touring (GT) vehicle. This type of car typically seats two, has a large, powerful engine, a luxurious interior, and can cost about as much as a house. While the BMW 6-Series, Chevrolet Corvette, and Jaguar XK can be classified as GTs (and are all fine cars in their own rights), demanding buyers will tell you they can't quite deliver the Ferrari brand's panache and exclusivity.

Ferrari's production GTs date back to the 1954-1955 250 Europa GT. The bloodline continued with cars such as the 1968-1973 365 GTS/4 Daytona, 1984-1996 Testarossa and 512 TR, and 1996-2005 550 and 575M Maranello.

As successor to the 575M and Superamerica, the 599 GTB slots between the "entry level" F430 and the flagship 612 Scaglietti. The F430 seats two and has a V8 engine that's mounted behind the passenger compartment. Scagliettis seat four and have a front-engine V12. The 599 splits the difference with two-passenger seating paired with a front-mounted V12.

Serious Giddy-up
While it's dimensionally smaller than the 612, the 599 has a larger, more potent engine. Its V12 displaces 6.0 liters (the 612's is 5.75) and is good for 620 horsepower (versus 532 for the 612). That makes it not only Ferrari's most powerful current production vehicle, it's one of the most powerful in all of autodom. The only non-exotic car that comes close is the Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG with 604 hp. Unlike the Benz, Ferrari doesn't rely on a turbocharger or supercharger to achieve that level of power. Ferrari is one of a small handful of automakers that can claim an engine with more than 100 hp per liter of displacement without any sort of forced-induction mechanism.

Specifications
Wheelbase	108.3
Length	183.7
Width	77.2
Height	52.6
Curb Weight	3722
Fuel Capacity	27.7
Cargo Volume	11.3
Engine	6.0-liter V12
Horsepower	620 @ 7600 rpm
Torque	449 @ 5600 rpm
Fuel economy	11 mpg

All that power gets to the ground by way of a standard 6-speed manual transmission or Ferrari's optional F1 Gearbox. The company predicts most buyers will choose the F1, which is a sequential manual transmission (SMT). The F1 Gearbox allows shifts to be made manually with steering wheel paddles (just like a Formula 1 race car, go figure) or it can be set like a traditional automatic transmission.

Punch the 599's gas pedal, and Ferrari says you'll hit 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph) from a dead stop in 3.7 seconds. That's faster than pretty much any production car out there. Keep on the accelerator long enough, and you may very well reach the 599's projected top speed of "more than 205 mph," according to Ferrari. Those speeds are best reserved for Ferrari's sanctioned Challenge events, where owners get to toss their cars around some of North America's best-known racetracks.

Whoa!
The speed you build in the 599 can go away via standard antilock four-wheel disc brakes. Available are Ferrari's carbon-ceramic disc brakes. They increase the brake diameter to 15.7 inches from 13.9 inches up front, and 14.2 inches from 12.9 inches in back. Those brakes are larger than the wheels on some economy cars. The carbon ceramic compound is designed to lower the car's unsprung weight and reduce fade (a reduction in stopping power due to heat buildup).

To assist drivers in maintaining control of their cars, 599 comes with Ferrari's CST traction control with antiskid system. Unlike systems found in other performance and luxury cars, CST gives owners near-complete control over how much they want the system to intervene. CST has the following modes:

Ferrari 599 GTB

Ice: For situations with very low traction. Engine speed is highly restricted in order to maintain contact with the road. In this mode, the F1 Gearbox stays in fully-automatic mode.
Low Grip: Used primarily in rainy conditions. Drivers can shift the F1 themselves.
Sport: The standard setting, which should be used in typical driving conditions. CST acts like most other cars with traction/antiskid control.
Race: Speeds up the timing of the F1's shifts. Ferrari says this mode should only be used on the racetrack.
CST Off: All bets are off in this mode. No stability system will be there to bail you out if you lose control with the CST off.

Multi-trick Pony
Like other Ferraris, the 599 can be personalized to an owner's specifications. In addition to a standard palette of about a dozen different paint and interior colors, Ferrari can color-match anything based on a sample given to the dealer. The Enzo's carbon fiber steering wheel is also available, as is a satellite navigation system.

Sounds good, right? Where do you sign? Before heading to your nearest dealer, be sure to bring the $260,000 necessary to acquire a 599 GTB. Also be prepared to wait in line. Though cars are rolling in to dealers now, you can expect to wait at least a year before yours arrives.