Photo of the day: just a Ferrari 599 GTO entering Rome at dusk

Ferrari’s infamous ‘XX’ program tends to yield some rather, er… ‘wilful’ results.

And the 599 GTO was no different. As the road-going version of the 599XX development racer, the GTO’s 6.0-litre V12 was capable of 661bhp at a screaming 8250rpm – up from 612 in the GTB. And it was almost 100kg lighter, too, which made for quite a brisk bit of kit.

It was never a proper homologation car, as the 250 and 288 GTO were. However, after a short spell behind the wheel, having your insides torn apart by physics, it was fair to say it was worthy of a special badge, if not the vaunted ‘Gran Turismo Omologato’. And it was almost as rare as the real GTOs, as well.

Ferrari made just 599 examples, each ready to crest 200mph and lap Ferrari’s Fiorano test circuit faster than an Enzo. And, ensuring its exclusivity, the 599 GTO was only offered to dedicated Tifosi, with multiple Ferraris in their back catalogue.

This pic was taken at last year’s Mille Miglia regularity race. And, happy days, it’ll run again this year in May, following the route of the famous 1000-mile race.