2010 Ferrari 599GTB Fiorano HGTE - First Drive Review - Car and Driver
So, your stock portfolio is in the crapper, your spouse has found a younger flame, and your standard $326,730 Ferrari 599GTB Fiorano isn’t doing it for you anymore. Might we suggest that you order a new 599. This time, however, check the box for the $30,095 Handling GTE, or HGTE, package. With it comes a retuned suspension consisting of stiffer springs (17 percent in front and 15 percent in the rear), a thicker rear anti-roll bar (1. 0 inch versus 0. 9 for the standard 599), retuned adjustable shocks, and slightly wider front wheels. The 599 HGTE also sits 0. 4 inch lower than the regular version, has a retuned exhaust note, and is fitted with stickier Pirelli P Zero rubber. There are two options for the transmission, both of which offer six speeds: a traditional three-pedal manual or Ferrari’s F1-Superfast automated manual. The latter is the primary choice for buyers, evidenced by a quick jaunt past the company’s assembly line, where none of the partly assembled 599s were fitted with a manual gearbox. Yet a few hot laps around Ferrari’s Fiorano circuit left us star struck all over again. (Indeed, while on an orientation lap, Maserati MC12 racing pilot Andrea Bertolini was so entertained by the engine power, he blurted, “The torque of this engine is amazing. A 599 with the HGTE package is as neutral as the standard car, if not more so, thanks to the lower. Source: www.caranddriver.com
