Ferrari FXX K

Car name inspiration comes from all sorts of unlikely places. Some makers favour winds from exotic locales (Pagani Zonda, Maserati Khamsin), others prefer to use the animal kingdom as their muse (Ford Mustang, Shelby Cobra).

We can only assume that Ferrari named its latest track-only hypercar after the word that escaped from chief test driver Raffaele di Simone’s mouth when he first floored the throttle it’s called the Ferrari FXX K.

Whether or not that’s the case, we wouldn’t blame di Simone for his involuntary outburst, given the FXX K, essentially a racing version of the LaFerrari, produces a staggering 774kW and “in excess of 900Nm”.

Thanks to new high-lift camshafts, replacing the hydraulic valvetrain with a mechanical system and eliminating the exhaust silencers (and subsequently shattering all ear drums within a kilometre radius), Ferrari’s engineering wizards have extracted an incredible 634kW at 9200rpm from the 6.3-litre V12, up from 588kW at 9000rpm in the LaFerrari.

Furthermore, an extra 20kW is liberated from the electric motor (now 140kW). No straight-line performance figures have been released, but suffice to say the FXX K should be significantly quicker than the LaFerrari’s already ludicrous claim of “less than 15 seconds” from 0-300km/h.

The FXX K is significantly quicker than the already ludicrous LaFerrari

In terms of lap time, the FXX K has clocked a 1:46sec lap of Fiorano, a crazy five seconds faster than the LaFerrari. Of course, the fitment of slick racing tyres accounts for a large percentage of that, but the FXX K has also received a significant amount of aerodynamic attention.

A larger, lower front splitter and an auto-adjustable rear wing, that extends higher than the LaFerrari’s, have increased downforce by 30 per cent in high-drag configuration. While that giant diffuser plays a pivotal role in downforce levels 50 per cent greater than the LaFerrari in low-drag mode.

The FXX K made its public debut at Ferrari’s ‘Finali Mondiali’, essentially its annual end-of-year Christmas Party, held at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. No production figures or price tag has been announced, but according to Ferrari sources no more than 40 cars will be built at a rumoured A$3.7m each. Both numbers are academic, however, as every car has already been sold. Damn.