What is is like to drive a real Ferrari FXX-K? 
Everyone knows it can hit 60 mph in 0.52 seconds. It can beat a Veyron to 260 mph in reverse. The FXX K produces so much lateral grip that Ferrari has to use acid-etching paint to keep the red on in corners. The Ferrari FXX-K racing variant can unscrew pickle jars on a slalom course, cause a redshift in sunlight under maximum acceleration, trigger fusion, grant wishes and get your girlfriend to stop stealing the covers at 2 a.m. At least, it can in the imaginations of people who will never see one in action — and Ferrari seems to prefer it that way. (Eds Disclaimer: Richard tends toward hyperbole a bit.)
Enzo himself never made any secret of the fact that he only sold street cars to fund his racing endeavors. But that’s always been part of the Ferrari experience; knowing that you’re not so much buying a car, as you are buying into the team. That’s been the case with every Ferrari ever made, including the LaFerrari.
The FXX-K version of the LaFerrari, much like the FXX version of the Enzo that preceded it, is part of Ferrari’s Corse Clienti customer racing program. Which is another way of saying: “If you already own 10 Ferraris, pay us several million and we’ll let you drive this one around a track from time to time.” That’s Ferrari’s way of keeping its F1 technology out of competitors’ hands — and the car out of the hands of auto journalists, who might spoil the fun by callously comparing it to other cars. So, the question now is: Is this new FXX a classic Ferrari fleece job? Is it Maranello offering all carbon-fiber hat and no galloping horse?
Continue reading and see for yourself.
Like the Enzo FXX that preceded it, the Ferrari FXX-K is a non-street-legal variant of the company’s flagship V-12 supercar. It’s not a “race car” in the truest sense, since Ferrari doesn’t allow owners to use their cars against non-Ferraris. Rather, as part of the Corse Clienti program, FXX-K drivers are permitted to meet up a few times a year at various tracks rented for the day by Ferrari, and race against other FXX-Ks.
The “K” in FXX-K stands for KERS, itself an acronym for “Kinetic Energy Recovery System.” These interesting hybrid drives are the very same Ferrari fits to its F1 cars, and allow braking energy captured in the corners to be reused for acceleration. On engine alone, the FXX makes 838 horsepower, just shy of the output of the last generation Enzo FXX Evolutione. But the KERS system, when charged, adds another 300 horsepower for a total of 1,035 horses. Not too bad for an all-carbon car that weighs 250 pounds less than a 2015 Honda Civic Si.
No matter which redhead you take to the track, everyone’s on Enzo’s team at the end of the day.
Those are some pretty impressive specifications, even for a car that seems to be made of nothing but impressive specifications. Unfortunately, all we have now are specifications, not numbers — as in “tested performance figures.” We can probably forgive that to a degree, seeing as how the FXX-K only went into production this year. Though if the last FXX is any indication, Ferrari probably won’t let anyone quantify its performance for at least the next two presidential elections.
In the meantime, though, they have officially unveiled the car, and we have dashcam footage of at least one of them going around the Paul Ricard racing circuit. It’s hard to say exactly how fast this particular example is, because again, Ferrari and numbers don’t get along. But at a guess, this FXX K looks to be going…really fast. At least, fast enough to blow by every other Ferrari it encounters like a mako shooting past common bottom feeders.
Probably the best part comes in about the 3:00 mark, where the Ferrari driver comes up on what looks like an F430. The F430 driver doesn’t appear to have noticed The FXX K suddenly appearing in his rear-view until just past mid-corner, where he should be powering out of the turn. Instead, the F430 driver quickly slides the out of the way so as not to ruin the FXX K’s racing line. You just know the best part of this day for him was telling his friends about that time he got passed mid-corner by an FXX K. Bet if you look close enough at the rear-view mirror in this dashcam footage, you can catch the F430 driver genuflecting as the FXX K accelerates away.
But isn’t that what Ferrari is all about? No matter which redhead you take to the track, everyone’s on Enzo’s team at the end of the day. Or, at least, they’re paying for the team; which by Wall Street rules means they’re on it. Close enough. As to the Ferrari FXX K itself: This uploader says it hit 180 mph, presumably on the 1.1-mile Mistral Straight. That seems like a pretty fair number, considering the specifications. And it’ll probably be the only real performance number we’ll see from this car for the next decade or so.
The rest…well, let’s just say that our imaginations are the only limit. Just as it should be.
Ferrari FXX K
Read our full review here.