Ferrari presents its hypercar 2023: the 499P
Ferrari is making its comeback in the top category of endurance racing. Next year, the Scuderia will field the 499P, which resembles the 312PB from the early 70s.
A little nostalgic feeling for Ferrari. This Saturday, October 29th, the Scuderia unveiled its new hypercar that will compete in the World Endurance Championship and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
This new hypercar, with its traditional red bodywork, has added some yellow lines, reminiscent of the 1972 and 1973 Ferrari 312PB. This new car is equipped with a 3-liter twin-turbo V6 engine. Like all LMH category prototypes, this one will be hybrid (except for the Glickenhaus).
The internal combustion engine is limited to 680 horsepower. The second power unit of the engine is powered by the 272 horsepower ERS. The battery pack, with a nominal voltage of 900 Volts, benefits from the experience gained in Formula 1, although it was specifically developed for this project, says the Scuderia.
The 499P allows us to compete once again for the overall victory in the World Endurance Championship. When we decided to embark on this project, we followed a path of innovation and development faithful to our tradition, which considers the track as the ideal ground to experiment with cutting-edge technical solutions before transferring them to our road cars. We have taken on this challenge with humility, but aware of a history that has allowed us to conquer over 20 world titles and 9 overall victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, confirms John Elkann, Chairman of Ferrari.
First test in Sebring
For several months, photos and videos of the 499P have been unveiled. Indeed, the car has been participating in tests on the Scuderia track in Maranello. It has already accumulated several thousand kilometers. However, its first real-life test is scheduled for the 1000 km of Sebring in March.
The prototype, on the other hand, was developed by in-house drivers, mainly from the GT categories: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Davide Rigon, Daniel Serra, Alessio Rovera, and Nicklas Nielsen. « We will choose drivers from the Ferrari family. We have very consistent drivers in the GT family; the choice will be made 100% in our house », confirms Ferdinando Cannizzo, responsible for the development of Ferrari GT track cars.
