Here are the definitive photos of the 1000 horsepower 499P prototype with which the Maranello team will return to compete in the 24 Hours and in the World Endurance Championship, half a century after the last official participation. A return that will coincide with the centenary of the most famous endurance race in the world
by our correspondent Luigi Perna
– IMOLA
In every self-respecting Ferrari there is a link with the past. History is part of the DNA of the Maranello cars. This also applies to the red that next year will attack the victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the Hypercar category, the highest expression of the World Endurance Championship, trying to regain that absolute triumph in the most famous endurance race in the world that is missing for the Italian team since 1965, when Jochen Rindt and Masten Gregory won the 275 LM. The new car is called 499 P, the acronym that the great Enzo Ferrari used to identify the racing prototypes, where the number indicates the unit displacement of the engine, which is a hybrid V6 of 300o cubic centimeters.
colors
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It is painted red with a large yellow stripe that goes from the roof to the sides, recalling the color of the city of Modena and the link with another famous car, the 1973 312 PB which was the last Ferrari to be officially deployed. in the World Prototypes. The number 50 on the body is a reminder that half a century will have passed since then in 2023. And the official return coincides with the 100th anniversary of the Sarthe classic, which will be staged next 10-11 June.
DEBUT SEBRING
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But this marvel of performance and technology, unveiled in Imola on the occasion of the World Finals of the Cavallino Challenge Trophy, projects from the past directly into the future, thanks to the quantity of cutting-edge solutions lavished on a project that is among the most ambitious ever. for the company. It took two years of work to get it done, before moving on to track tests, which have been going on at a fast pace since August, to prepare for the debut in the WEC scheduled for the 1000 Miglia di Sebring (March 17). “It is a process that starts from afar and now becomes reality. Since the plan was approved – says Antonello Coletta, Ferrari’s GT sports activities manager – we have never stopped. The announcement that we would be back to compete officially at Le Mans was followed by a frantic wait. It is a very exciting adventure. This car is a true racing Ferrari. A tribute to our history and a manifesto for the future ”.
This Ferrari is a tribute to our history and a manifesto for the future. An extreme machine in all
F1 PHILOSOPHY
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The decision to line up at the start of the LMH category, where the manufacturers can build both the engine and the chassis themselves, is in line with the philosophy of Ferrari, which does the same in F1 as well. Toyota and Peugeot, two other major competing brands, have followed the same path, while Porsche has instead decided to line up in the LMDh class, characterized by the use of chassis supplied by other companies, like Alpine and Cadillac, with the intention to compete also in the American Imsa championship and the 24 Hours of Daytona. “From the very first moment we sat down at the table with the Federation to define the regulations, we made it clear that our interest in participating would be linked to the possibility of building and developing the entire car, in every component. It was an essential condition for Ferrari. All sectors of the company were involved in the project – explains Coletta – under the technical direction of Ferdinando Cannizzo. Our philosophy is to use racing to experiment with solutions to be put on road cars and this prototype will also be a research laboratory to draw on for mass production, with an eye to sustainability ”.
4×4 TRACTION
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The Hypercar category will see hybrid cars at the start. The Ferrari 499 P has an architecture of this type: it has a 200 Kw (272 Hp) battery in a central position, under the driver’s seat, which works in combination with the 680 Hp V6 biturbo heat engine, derived from that of the 296 GT3. The total power is therefore close to 1000 Hp. But the real peculiarity is the presence of an electric / differential motor, located on the front axle, which allows to recover the kinetic energy during braking and to use the car in 4-wheel drive mode, beyond a certain speed that will be established by the regulation. . “An extreme machine in everything”, defines Coletta. Aerodynamics is closely related to F1 single-seaters, so many details confirm the transfer of knowledge that has taken place between the technicians of the GT department and those of the Gestione Sportiva, and the result is a car that can generate an incredible vertical load. cornering by exploiting the air that passes under the bottom up to the diffuser and is channeled upwards flowing from the nose towards the gigantic rear wing connected to the central fin on the bonnet.
The goal is to win at Le Mans and in the World Endurance Championship. We are ambitious, but also humble in recognizing the greater experience of our opponents
THE FERRARI TEAM
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About a hundred people are involved in the Hypercar program. About thirty engineers, as many employees between marketing and logistics, as well as a real team of about forty men. “To manage the cars on the track – explains Coletta – we will also make use of the collaboration of the AF Corse team, which has supported us in recent years at Le Mans”. Confidentiality instead on the budget of the operation and on the names of the drivers who will be chosen to drive the two official cars (the other will have number 51) that will be lined up in the race in 2023. Among the candidates there are the current world champions Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado, who are alternating with the other drivers driving the Hypercar in the tests, conducted with two cars. Ferrari has won 22 World Endurance titles, with a direct commitment up to 1973 (9 overall victories at Le Mans) and with a return as a “semi-official” from 2012, which led to the conquest of six championships and two triumphs in Le Mans in the lower class GTE Pro, with the very strong 458 GTE and 488 GTE. The challenge now becomes more demanding. In the Hypercar category, a very high level competition is announced and this could relaunch the popularity of the series, which in the 70s saw great champions and manufacturers at the start. “It is an important moment for Endurance, perhaps the best ever, and we must take advantage of it – says Coletta -. We couldn’t stay out of the challenge. The goal is to win at Le Mans and in the World Championship, it being understood that our recent titles have not been considered enough, but in addition to the ambition we also have the humility to recognize that some of our rivals will be able to count on more experience than us in this discipline”. If the 499 P is as fast and reliable as it looks good, rivals will have to worry.
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