It’s been over four months since Ferrari revealed
the new FXX K Evo. But this is the first time that the upgraded track machine
has actually driven on track. Following its unveiling at the Finali Mondiali event at Mugello last year, the
Ferrari FXX K Evo has now made its “race” debut at the Circuit of the Americas.
There it hit the track alongside a handful of existing FXX Ks, together with
seven 599 XXs and a pair of original Enzo-based FXXs. They all form part of
Ferrari’s XX development program.
Based on the hybrid LaFerrari hypercar, the FXX K
packs the same 6.3-liter V12 powertrain, but upgraded from 950 horsepower to
over 1,000. It also features an array of other track-specific upgrades,
including race-ready suspension and rolling stock, a dry weight cut down to 1,165 kg, and more downforce.
In fact the FXX K’s aggressive aero package produces 540 kg of downforce at 200 km/h – but the FXX K Evo takes
that even further. It produces 23 percent more downforce than the “standard”
FXX K, and 75 percent more than the road-going LaFerrari.
The Evo version also features a smattering of other
enhancements, including a new steering wheel and electronics. The changes were
applied to three existing FXX Ks that were on hand for the event in Austin,
with the first ground-up examples to follow later.
The cars took part in the first Ferrari Racing Days
to be held at the circuit in Austin – but they weren’t the only ones. All told,
about a thousand Prancing Horses turned out for the event, including several
grids’ worth of 458 and 488 Challenge racers and some retired F1 cars. There were
two 412 T2s (the Scuderia’s last V12 racers); the F2000, F2003 GA, and F2004
that won the US Grand Prix (when it was at Indy), and the F138 that Fernando
Alonso drove at Austin in 2013 (where it finished fifth).
