A rare Ferrari once owned by Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay is on sale for £650k and has just 3,000miles on the clock. However, buyers are warned that it would be Virtual Insanity to try and drive the supercar in the rain.
The Ferrari 599 GTO was announced back in 2010 and at the time it was their fastest road car ever produced- the car can sprint to 62mph in under 3.35 seconds whilst easily reaching a top speed of over 208mph.
Jay Kay, whose disco-inspired band Jamiroquai had a number of chart topping hits in 1990s and 2000s, bought his 599 GTO a few years after its original owner.
But – in the words of one of the popstar’s singles – he clearly only loved the car with a little L as there is only a measly 2,800 miles on the mileometer 13 years after the car left the showroom.
Although the lack of mileage is no great surprise given that Ferrari mechanics supposedly told Jeremy Clarkson – who reviewed the car for Top Gear back in 2011 – that it’s impossible to drive in rainy conditions.
A rare Ferrari 599 GTO once owned by Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay is on sale for £650k and has just 3,000miles on the clock
Jay Kay, whose disco-inspired band Jamiroquai had a number of chart topping hits in 1990s and 2000s, bought his 599 GTO a few years after its original owner
The Ferrari 599 GTO was announced back in 2010 and at the time it was their fastest road car ever produced- the car can sprint to 62mph in under 3.35 seconds whilst easily reaching a top speed of over 208mph
Despite the criticism, the car is one of just 599 examples built, and allegedly one of two finished in Nero DS with a Giallo racing stripe, which is likely to pique the interests of car collectors across the world.
The listing is held by DK Engineering who commented on the car.
‘When produced in 2010, Ferrari announced that the 599 GTO was their fastest road car ever, able to lap the Fiorano test circuit in one minute 24 seconds, one second faster than the Ferrari Enzo’, reads the listing.
‘Its engine produces a staggering 661 bhp at 8,250 rpm, with 460 lb-ft of torque at 6,500 rpm.
‘The 599 GTO can sprint to 62 mph in under 3.35 seconds whilst easily reaching a top speed of over 208 mph.
‘This example was supplied new to its first keeper by H.R. Owen Ferrari of Brompton Road, London on 24th September 2011.
‘Optioned in Nero DS with a Racing Livery in Giallo, it is understood to be one of two examples built in this configuration and the sole European example.’
The name, ‘GTO’ (Gran Turismo Omologata) instantly brings to mind two Ferraris that have entered the collective imagination as symbols of performance.
The car is one of just 599 examples built, and allegedly one of two finished in Nero DS with a Giallo racing stripe, which is likely to pique the interests of car collectors across the world
Jay – in the words of one of the popstar’s hit singles – clearly only loved the car with a little L as the mileometer only clocks in a measly 2,800 miles 13 years after the car left the showroom
The lack of mileage is no great surprise given that Ferrari mechanics supposedly told Jeremy Clarkson – who reviewed the car for Top Gear back in 2011 – that it’s impossible to drive in rainy conditions
After the 1962 250 GTO, which swept the boards in GT racing categories in the 1960s and is now a highly prized collector’s car, came the iconic 1984 288 GTO, which pretty much invented the entire modern supercar genre.
Ferrari has only given the GTO name to three cars with the 599 being the most recent. Each GTO was based on a circuit car – the 599 GTO was based on the 599 GTB Fiorano chassis but is essentially the road-going version of the 599XX track car.
The 599 GTO weighs 100 kg less than the standard GTB by a severe diet in a similar manner to other recent Ferrari lightweight models such as the 430 Scuderia.
The entire car has received design revisions over the standard GTB including the front, the sides, the flat underbody and the cooling flows.
In the latter instance, the GTO can count on improved ducting to the brake discs and pads, and the adoption of wheel doughnuts – a disc positioned outside the brake disc that ensures that hot air exiting the wheel arch stays as close to the body of the car as possible to reduce drag; again, a feature borrowed straight from the FXX.
