This is the latest Ferrari 599 GTO, a very special limited-edition Italian supercar that takes inspiration from the track-only, £1.3m 599XX. Just 599 will be built (appropriately enough) and Ferrari is claiming this 661bhp beast is its fastest ever road car.

Press release:

MARANELLO, Italy — Crowing that the Ferrari 599 GTO is “the company’s fastest ever road car,” Ferrari on Thursday released official images and details of the highly anticipated car ahead of its debut in late April at the 2010 Beijing Auto Show.

The ultimate roadgoing Ferrari, which is rife with aerodynamic tweaks, features a 6.0-liter V12 engine that churns out 670 horsepower and 457 pound-feet of torque. The engine is paired with a six-speed sequential gearbox. Ferrari pegs the top speed of the rear-drive 599 GTO at more than 208 mph and says the car sprints from zero to 60 mph in less than 3.35 seconds.

Ferrari says a key goal with the development of the 599 GTO was weight reduction. The 599 GTO has a curb weight of 3,538 pounds.

“The result was the widespread use of composites and components manufactured with technologies more akin to racing specifications,” it said in a statement. “The areas involved include the bodywork and greenhouse, with thinner-gauge aluminum and thinner glass, the brakes, transmission and the exhaust system.”

The 599 GTO is heavily based on the Ferrari 599XX. Details on the GTO include a new sill design and a new double-curve rear diffuser. The suspension uses magnetorheological dampers. Brakes are carbon-ceramic and the tires are Michelins, sized 285/30ZR20 in front and 315/35ZR20 in back.

The cabin features carbon fiber F1 paddles as well as the Virtual Race Engineer, a system that monitors the status of the car and gives the driver “immediate visibility of vehicle performance.”

The Italian automaker says it will build 599 units of the car, which will be previewed for “a small number of Ferrari clients” on April 14 at the Military Academy in Modena, Italy. The public debut of the 599 GTO will follow later this month at China’s high-profile auto show.

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