Ofcourse I am aware of that. I posted it so that if someone had not seen already, standard LFA was compared with the standard 599 GTB Fiorano with the HGTE track package.
Vs EVO: Ferrari 599 GTO vs Lexus LFA
martinbo
Staff member
Thanks for that. Not so sure most would prefer the regular 599. Evo seemed to like it enough here:
Ferrari 599 HGTE | Car Review | evo
Ditto for Autocar: Ferrari 599 HGTE - Road Test First Drive - Autocar.co.uk
Haven't been in either a GTO or 599XX, but from the pics and youtube videos, there's a world of difference between them vs the difference between a GTO and GTB/HGTE. The street car interiors are pretty much identical and the paper specs say the XX should be in an entirely different performance league. Double the downforce of the GTO (thanks in part to the in-trunk air extractors), 150kg difference in curb weight, considerably greater difference in torque, and racing slicks which combined with the aero package should put it near FXX league. Which it is, at Fiorano anyway. If I'm not mistaken, the XX runs no cat or silencer and combined with the lack of interior insulation, this has got to be a much more visceral driving experience than the GTO. (I'm a little amazed that the FXX got in a timed lap at the TopGear test track, while the LFA ran afoul of the noise regs when TG re-tried it for a dry lap, a somewhat ignoble trait shared by the Zonda R.)
martinbo
Staff member
Guibo if my memory serves me right the HGTE only got 4.5 stars in a later comparitive EVO road test - I'll try and dredge it up when I get home. As for that EVO review link you've sent - it's by David Vivian and he was so un-EVO and is no longer with the publication. I disliked his reviews.
The thing about Evo comparative road tests is that they tell us how those cars perform within the setting specified; some cars may do better on different roads and conditions, some may do worse. Likewise Autocar and Car Magazine have named some cars winners within one group comparo, only to name them runners up to the very cars they had beaten, in the year-end roundup. Some HGTE cars are set up differently from others; some have Corsas, some don't. What would be most relevant is an HGTE comparo vs the regular GTB. It's not conclusive that the regular car would definitely have fared better; its softer suspension may be better over rough surfaces, but throw in some mid-corner dips or compressions a bit later and it may run out of suspension travel and start seeing its nose skimming on the pavement. There's a "wallow" that the HGTE pack seems to have eradicated.
Vivian having exited from Evo must be very new development; he's listed as a Contributing Editor as recently as the September issue.
Ok, some more HGTE articles for thought, with many saying it's worth the additional outlay over the standard car.
Car reviews | Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano Handling GT Evoluzione | Bella fasta | by Car Enthusiast
2010 Ferrari 599GTB HGTE - Ferrari Exotic Sport Coupe Review - Automobile Magazine
Ferrari 599 GTB F1 HGTE full road test car review - BBC Top Gear - BBC Top Gear
Ferrari 599 GTB Handling GTE review - Telegraph
5FWD - Ferrari 599 HGTE video from Fifth Gear
Tiff may be a bit overly enthusiastic in claiming the HGTE is 100% better, but I think we should get his basic point. It's a sharper handling car, with less understeer, faster turn-in, better body control, better sound, and better interior trim, compared to the standard GTB.
That is true. The dry lap of Lexus LFA run by the Stig (Ben Collins) was mysteriously scrapped by Top Gear saying "the noise police shut the track down", which was a first in Top Gear history. Although, they hinted "it was Stig's most favorite car out of the 5".
Anyway, as it stands
Ferrari 599 GTO: 1:19.8 (dry lap)
Lexus LFA: 1:22.8 (very wet)
I wonder what type of cars does Bedford Autodrome favor?? Is it a high speed track?? or more technical track??
Anyway, as it stands
Ferrari 599 GTO: 1:19.8 (dry lap)
Lexus LFA: 1:22.8 (very wet)
I wonder what type of cars does Bedford Autodrome favor?? Is it a high speed track?? or more technical track??
OK - I give up! You win Guibo!
It's a medium-speed track, with about 3 very technical chicane-like sections. From the MP4 vs 458 and 1m vs Cayman R group tests, it seems to favor cars with good resistance to understeer and very fast steering racks. Between the LFA and GTO it's hard to say. They both have grippy front ends with a penchant toward controllable oversteer. The GTO has the fatter front tires that the standard GTB badly needed to kill understeer, and like the 458 it has been set up to be deliberately unstable for the kind of agility that keen drivers tend to prefer. It probably has the tire advantage and a more advanced stability control system than the LFA, and that massive torque advantage might mean fewer time-consuming gearchanges are necessary.
Thanks. It would be interesting to see how the final feature pans out by Evo.
It's a medium-speed track, with about 3 very technical chicane-like sections. From the MP4 vs 458 and 1m vs Cayman R group tests, it seems to favor cars with good resistance to understeer and very fast steering racks. Between the LFA and GTO it's hard to say. They both have grippy front ends with a penchant toward controllable oversteer. The GTO has the fatter front tires that the standard GTB badly needed to kill understeer, and like the 458 it has been set up to be deliberately unstable for the kind of agility that keen drivers tend to prefer. It probably has the tire advantage and a more advanced stability control system than the LFA, and that massive torque advantage might mean fewer time-consuming gearchanges are necessary.
Mafalda
Stuttgart Specialist
th 599 GTO is the star of this thread, not the HGTE ... but anyway thanks for the collection of links, always very useful
Odd, I was thinking this thread had more than one star. But you're welcome.th 599 GTO is the star of this thread, not the HGTE ... but anyway thanks for the collection of links, always very useful
Mafalda
Stuttgart Specialist
That sucks. I really wanted to see their lap times on Bedford Autodrome. The acceleration times were off mightily 
Great read. LFA vindicated in this, surely, it's finest hour. Those in the know here recognised what made it special and gave it the kudos it deserves yonks ago...
Pity there was no chance for a Bedford lap!
Oh, and I'd still take that GTO...
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